March 7, 1953
JOSEPH STALIN: London, 6 – In Moscow today, at about 3 p.m., the great door of the Kremlin opened and a hearse carrying the remains of Joseph Stalin emerged through the Spassky Gate into Red Square, heading for the headquarters of the Workers’ Unions. The cortege took place in the biting cold and under a gloomy sky, the sun only occasionally breaking through the clouds. Muscovites had been gathering since the morning in Red Square (…). An hour after the cortege passed by, the building’s doors opened to allow Soviet citizens to file by their deceased leader’s coffin in twos. (…) People continued to pass by the coffin until late into the night. This morning, when Stalin’s death was announced, a large number of workers on the night shift who were returning home, as well as workers on their way to work, visited churches, synagogues and temples to pray. ANTONIS KARKAYIANNIS: Athens General Security Police yesterday (March 6) referred 34 students to trial on charges of instigating violence during a students’ rally on March 4 over the Cyprus issue. The prosecutor read out the charges and referred the case to the magistrate of the Eighth Department, Mr Theotikos, who (…) ordered the pretrial detention of six of the accused for causing bodily harm and rebelling against the authorities. They are Ioannis Katrimanis, Christos Bakopoulos, E. Haralambopoulos, G. Siantos, A. Karkayiannis and K. Petrou.
