# Talk:Joseph Stalin

Add the fact that stalin was a rapist. Zuboy076 (talk) 11:08, 5 October 2025 (UTC)

 Not done – please provide specific wording and a reliable source for claims of this nature. – GnocchiFan (talk) 13:11, 5 October 2025 (UTC)

What do you think about using well-known official portrait of Stalin as infobox image? This portrait was widely displayed in the 1950s in media articles, on the street, in buildings, and at official events. It was also displayed at Stalin's funeral.

 Roman Kubanskiy (talk) 11:48, 11 October 2025 (UTC)
Ping for discussion @Last1n, @Curbon7, @GodzillamanRor, @Lulfas, @DanielRigal, @HenryMP02, @Pincrete, @MaximusEditor, @W9793, @Timceharris, @Jack234567, @TarnishedPath, @Senorangel, @Jack Upland, @Freedom4U, @Nfutvol, @Scu ba, @Kerdooskis, @Writethisway, @Pistongrinder, @Qflib, @Emiya1980 Roman Kubanskiy (talk) 19:09, 11 October 2025 (UTC)
Seems like the consensus is to keep the current portrait.  I would have to say the difference is to minimal to notice. MaximusEditor (talk) 16:26, 14 October 2025 (UTC)
@Goszei: The image you originally uploaded is up for review.Emiya1980 (talk) 19:20, 11 October 2025 (UTC)
I prefer the current image which seems more like a down-to-earth representation of Stalin as he actually appeared.Emiya1980 (talk) 19:18, 11 October 2025 (UTC)
The current picture seems a bit more down to earth somehow.  It might be the difference in how... I guess shiny he looks?  Not a strong difference to me either way though. Lulfas (talk) 21:52, 11 October 2025 (UTC)
@Roman Kubanskiy, do you have links to previous discussions on this? TarnishedPathtalk 00:47, 12 October 2025 (UTC)
@Roman Kubanskiy agreed there's not a huge difference, but the current one seems more down to earth. I see no real reason to change it, but am happy to leave the decision up to discussion Timceharris (talk) 02:07, 12 October 2025 (UTC)
Here. Roman Kubanskiy (talk) 08:03, 12 October 2025 (UTC)
@TarnishedPath Roman Kubanskiy (talk) 08:04, 12 October 2025 (UTC)
I am in favor of keeping the current portrait. The proposed portrait is certainly iconic, but its widespread use as an official, state-sanctioned image is precisely why it's less suitable for the infobox in terms of neutrality. It is a heavily retouched propaganda piece from the height of his personality cult, designed to present a specific, god-like image to the public. As others have noted, the 1932 photo by James Abbe is more "down-to-earth", which is rare when it comes to pictures of Stalin. It is a clear, high-quality photograph that depicts him as he actually looked, which makes it far more encyclopedic and appropriate for use here. — Goszei (talk)  19:44, 12 October 2025 (UTC)
After all, we have an informal practice on Wikipedia of using official portraits (for example, portraits of US presidents that are in the public domain are widely used), why is there a problem with this? Portraits of the United States are also made in the "greatest" embodiment of the head of state. However, the problem is that it is difficult to find official free photos of Soviet leaders. Roman Kubanskiy (talk) 19:50, 12 October 2025 (UTC)
Keep the current portrait. It's more realistic.--Jack Upland (talk) 01:07, 13 October 2025 (UTC)
I prefer keeping the current portrait. The official portrait appears retouched, with Stalin's facial features (pockmarks) removed as compared to the current portrait. GodzillamanRor (talk) 14:28, 14 October 2025 (UTC)
Keep current This image is more iconic, sure, but also looks like a propaganda poster and would lend an unfavourable aura of bias to this article. - OmegaAOL (talk page, and contribs) 06:35, 1 November 2025 (UTC)
I also uploaded  and . Roman Kubanskiy (talk) 16:54, 10 November 2025 (UTC)
These have been edited too heavily and look artificial. Jähmefyysikko (talk) 17:25, 10 November 2025 (UTC)
Let it be in the Commons archive then. Can be useful for some articles. Roman Kubanskiy (talk) 17:34, 10 November 2025 (UTC)
This being an encyclopedia, it is better to go with an original photo if we have one. I personally also thinks that's better when consider cult of personality (also for any other historic figure). The comparison with official US presidential photos does not hold because they are generally not heavily edited to make the subject appear more handsome. Machinarium (talk) 16:11, 13 November 2025 (UTC)

Question Why does Stalin does have IMDb link on here? Christopher Lamar (talk) 02:25, 15 November 2025 (UTC)