ReaderJohn wrote:
Well, Stalin is an interesting case.
A known believer (very overtly Orthodox) pianist Maria Yudina was also overtly against the Soviet power. Stalin heard her play a concerto on the radio. Not knowing it was a life performance, he asked for the record. There wasn't one. So the Moscow symphony got the musicians out of bed in the middle of the night to make a record. They went through three conductors. All through it everyone was nervous except for Maria. Stalin was pleased with the recording and sent her a lot of money. She sent him a letter in reply, saying something like, \"Thank you for the money, Comrade Stalin. I gave it to my church. Every day I pray for your soul, that God would forgive your sins before God and the whole nation.\"
Stalin read the letter, put it down. His henchmen waited for the signal to arrest Yudina and send her to the gulag. Nothing happened. She outlived Stalin by decades. Stalin was listening to that recording when he died.
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