Thu, 01 Jan 1970 01:00:00 +0100Sat, 25 Jul 2026 14:13:57 +0200https://english.radio.cz/stalin-and-gottwald-together-life-and-death-8590644© 2026 Radio Prague International When Joseph Stalin died on March 5 1953, it sent shockwaves round the world. In Czechoslovakia his personality cult had been almost as overwhelming as in the Soviet Union itself. At the time of his death, work was already well under way to build the biggest statue of the Soviet dictator in the world – unveiled two years later in Letná Park. Stalin had a close ally and kindred spirit in the Czechoslovak President, Klement Gottwald, and Gottwald ignored warnings from his doctors in order to attend his friend and protector’s funeral. Before leading the Czechoslovak delegation to Moscow, he had a few words for his country’s citizens. encr@radio.cz (Cesky Rozhlas)webmaster@radio.cz (CRo Webmaster) https://english.radio.cz/sites/default/files/images/stalin_gottwald1.jpg?timestamp=1591467296 https://english.radio.cz/stalin-and-gottwald-together-life-and-death-8590644 Radio Prague International Radio Prague International radio.prague.int@gmail.com clean 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9