Owner of Russian Stalin museum murdered

Moscow - The owner of Russia's only museum dedicated to Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin was murdered Friday in Volgograd, the former Stalingrad, the Interfax news agency reported.

Three unidentified men attacked businessman Vasily Bukhteyenko on a tennis court with a stun gun and brutally beat him, leaving him with fatal injuries, a police spokesman reportedly said.

It was unclear if the attack was related to the museum, as Bukhteyenko also owned the Cafe Stalingrad and several hotels.

The police have not ruled out a contract killing.

Coming to terms with the Stalin era is still splitting Russian society, 57 years after his death.

A replica of Stalin's office in the Kremlin is among the displays set up in the four-room museum, which opened in 2006.

The museum sits near a memorial commemorating the battle of Stalingrad. Germany's 6th Army surrendered in the city on February 2, 1943. The battle, which left more than 700,000 dead, was a turning point in World War II.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/321444,owner-of-russian-stalin-museum-murdered.html.