The Northeast Winds

“The disintegration of the Soviet Union is the greatest crime of the twentieth century.” This has been stated by Vladimir Putin on several occasions, and some residents of Gori strongly agree with him. In Stalin’s birthplace in Georgia, they dream about a return to the time when the dictator was firmly in control.

These die-hard Stalinists are therefore shocked when city authorities have the statue of their hero removed. In their efforts to have it restored, they clash with another Stalinist party, which presents itself as the true guardian of Stalinism and refuses to tolerate outsiders.

Scenes filmed in cinema verité style show how the ideological believers get lost in bickering among themselves as their already-diminished and aging membership dwindles even further. They wallow in nostalgia, but the world has changed. In the younger generations, no one is interested in Stalin anymore.