Spitting in a historical context

This real story was told to me in 1977 by a communist, the head of a large party organization in Kirov. It happened in the early 50s in a small village in the Kirov region. He, then still a young Komsomol member, went with his friends to a local club - they brought a movie there, and then, as usual, dancing.

The club in the village is standard - a small foyer in front of the auditorium and a couple of rooms for amateur activities.

In the club's foyer, as in all other public rooms, there was a small bust of Joseph Stalin made of plaster on the nightstand.

There were a lot of people at the cinema, and we even had to bring a couple of extra benches. My interlocutor recalls that he liked the film, and therefore after the screening the young people, cheerful and happy, stood in the foyer and “showed off” in front of the girls. They laughed, talked loudly, egged each other on and even started a small jostling to show off their bravery.

And then, without calculating the force, the guys pushed their comrade too hard. To resist, he grabbed the bust of Stalin and... the bust fell and shattered into pieces.

A young guy, a Komsomol member, a labor shock worker, was imprisoned for 10 years under the “political” Article 58. True, he was released a few years later under an amnesty.

Lucky.

After 60 years of our development as a country and society, if a citizen causes damage or insults to the head of state, for example, spits on the portrait of the president, then he receives only 15 days for this.

There it’s ten years, but here it’s 15 days. As they say, feel the difference.

And for some reason, a lot of people are still dissatisfied with this court decision.

In about 20-30 years, such acts will be punished with only a small fine.

It will be possible to spit, sneeze and even tear apart portraits and paintings of unloved leaders.

Be patient, comrades. There's just a little bit left.