SHORT TAKES : Stalin’s Grandson to Portray Him
The grandson of Josef Stalin will portray the late dictator in a new Soviet film about World War II, the Communist Party newspaper Pravda reported today.
It said Yevgeny Djugashvili, a professor at a military academy, has agreed to take the part in “War Is War for Everyone” after long refusing to do so.
The film covers the life of Stalin’s son Yakov--Djugashvili’s father--who was captured by the Nazis and offered in exchange for high-ranking German officers.
Stalin, whose real name was Josef Vissarionovich Djugashvili, refused the offer, saying: “We do not exchange generals for soldiers.”
Yakov is assumed to have died in a German prison camp.
The new film will star Zaza Kolelishvili, a well-known Georgian actor, as Yakov.
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