Looking forward to bringing home a bar of souvenir chocolate bearing Joseph Stalin’s face from your next visit to St. Petersburg’s Russian Museum? Alas, the facility has pulled the confections from its cafe, following a public backlash, according to the radio station Govorit Moskva. “The cafe tenants bought the chocolate from the ‘Faces of Russia’ series, without the museum’s prior approval, and so it was decided to suspend all sales now,” said a spokesperson for the museum.
“First impressions count, and our trip to the Russian Museum started with the cafeteria, which managed to make a lasting impression. When the waitress said my cappuccino came with Stalin, I thought I misheard, but when I saw it... Wow. I was stunned.”
A day earlier, on December 15, Facebook user Vadim Fialko shared a photograph of one of the Stalin chocolates. The image spread virally online, attracting the attention of local and national media outlets.