State Funeral

Stalin dies on 5 March 1953. What follows is a monumental act of state-imposed mourning: endless queues of people, stiff speeches by officials and carefully composed mass scenes form a ritual that is less a farewell than a demonstration of power. Without additional explanation, the images expose the staging of a regime that wants to maintain absolute control even in the moment of loss as a melodramatic farce.
(Florian Widegger)