Russian revolution: The Death of Stalin reminds us of the brutal climax

The film covers the time between March 1 1953, when a stroke incapacitated Stalin, and his funeral ten days later

Who would have thought that a film - let alone a funny film - could be made about the death of Soviet Union leader Josef Stalin? He was after all a man who, as General Secretary of the Soviet communist party from 1922 to 1953, oversaw a period of history characterised by political purges, famine, and millions of deaths.

Despite the improbability of turning Stalin’s demise into film, it has been done by Armando Iannucci (creator of The Thick of It), based on the graphic novels, La Mort de Staline and Funérailles, by Fabien Nury and Thierry Robin.

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