State Funeral

The news of Joseph Stalin’s death on March 5, 1953, shocked the entire Soviet Union. The burial ceremony was attended by tens of thousands of mourners. Sergei Loznitsa presents unique, previously unseen archival footage of this historical moment, showing the culmination of the dictator’s personality cult. We observe every stage of the funeral spectacle, described by Pravda newspaper as “the Great Farewell,” and receive unprecedented access to the dramatic and absurd experience of life and death under Stalin’s reign. The film offers insight into the nature of the regime and its legacy, still haunting the contemporary world.