It just so happens that this eleven year old boy's name is Josef Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili, the same name with which Stalin was born. This Josef does not want to be an authoritarian dictator, however. He just wants to be a concert pianist.
The original Josef Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili
changed his name to Stalin (which means steel) before entering politics, because he thought it would help his political career. Now, young Josef, is counting on Russia, and especially Georgia, remembering the famous dictator of the same name. Although sharing a name with someone who killed many would have hurt anyone using it in the years immediately following the collapse of the Soviet Union, it is now nut such a bad thing after all. According to an article for the Times by Jeremy Page, Stalin's memory is being reinvented in his homeland. Some are actually beginning to build new statues of Stalin, especially in Georgia.
It certainly means that when young Josef plays a piano recital largely for the families of his school mates, people pay attention. The name does that for him. Though he has not adopted the more widely known "Man of Steel" moniker used by his famous ancestor, enough people in his homeland are familiar with Stalin's real name for it to be useful in getting some media attention.
Of course, the situation begs a comparison between the two Josefs. Certainly, the Stalin's great-great grandson is less severe than his dictator ancestor, but do they both crave the spotlight? As Jeremy Page points out in that same article, seeing another Josef Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili on stage brought back memories of communist party members clapping incessantly because no one wanted to be the first one to stop. fortunately, this Josef does not have the secret police at his disposal.
It is too early to tell whether Josef will ever be a famous pianist, but his thoughts about his famous ancestor are pretty clear. In an interview with the Times Josef said that Stalin, "he was very clever and everybody knew him because he ruled all the world. He was a tsar" Fortunately Josef said, "I want to be famous, too. But I want to be a pianist, not a tsar." We do not have to worry about this Josef it seems. And what would Stalin think about being called a tsar
by his own flesh and blood? He probably would not have been too thrilled about it.
