Russia commemorates a remembrance day for the victims of Soviet-era political repression on Saturday.
Rallies will be held around Russia later today, including in Moscow's Lubyanka Square near the headquarters of the Federal Security Service (FSB), the successor to the KGB.
More than 10 million people perished in the labor camps of the Gulag or in political purges during the Soviet era. Former dictator Joseph Stalin, who was voted the third greatest Russian in a poll by a TV channel in 2008, was responsible for over half of the deaths.
Despite this, he continues to be popular with many Russians for leading the Soviet Union to victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
The debate over his legacy reignited this spring after Moscow's ex-mayor, Yury Luzhkov, proposed putting up posters of Stalin around the city to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the end of WWII.
The plans were later called off.
MOSCOW, October 30 (RIA Novosti)
