USSR Secretary General Joseph Stalin will not appear on the icon of St. Matrona in the Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi. His image will be replaced with the image of a woman cured of cancer. This was announced by the leader of the pro-Kremlin Alliance of Patriots party, David Tarkhan-Mouravi, who presented the main temple of Tbilisi with an icon that caused a scandal and protests in the country.

The Patriarchate of Georgia asked to remove the image of Stalin from the icon. She also appealed to the leaders of the Alliance of Patriots party, who donated the icon to the temple, with a request to make appropriate changes.

Earlier, the head of the non-governmental organization Laboratory for Research of the Soviet Past, Irakli Khvadagiani, said that the scandal surrounding the icon broke out not because of a religious dispute, but because of the political aspect.

“Stalin exterminated millions of people, including believers of different faiths. In a civilized society, an attempt to present figures like Stalin in a positive way causes indignation,” Khvadagiani emphasized.
 
After the icon with Stalin appeared in the cathedral, it was doused with paint. Subsequently, a rally was held in Tbilisi near the house of activist Nata Peradze, who, according to the protesters, committed this offense. Nata Peradze, in turn, stated that she received threatening messages.