A group who still revere Joseph Stalin, 60 years after he died

Most people think of Joseph Stalin as an evil tyrant who was responsible for the death of millions of people and is almost on a par with Hitler.

But not 73-year-old Nazi Stefanishvili, or her friends who have formed a fan club for the great dictator in the town where he was born.

Although Stalin's rule was marked by mass repression, labour camps and famine, Mrs Stefanishvili says she has admired him since her childhood and over the years has filled a room in her daughter's house with memorabilia. 

'Every morning I go to the room to say good morning to Stalin,' she said.

Nazi Stefanishvili, a 73-year-old retired economist, poses for a portrait in a room dedicated to Stalin at her home in Gori, Georgia

Although he led the Soviet Union - which was dominated by Russia - for nearly three decades, Stalin was not Russian, but Georgian.

Nowadays Russia and Georgia are at loggerheads - they went to war in 2008 - and few Russians or Georgians have anything good to say about the man born Joseph Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili.

Mrs Stefanishvili, a retired economist, says: 'I have paintings, a lot of books about Stalin, busts, old newspapers, souvenirs. Most I bought, others were gifts, some were even found in the garbage.'

Georgia became independent of the rapidly collapsing Soviet Union in 1991 and since then most of the memorials to Stalin have been dismantled, most recently in 2010 when authorities removed a statue of the dictator from Gori's central square. 

But Stalin is still revered by a small group of mainly elderly supporters who stress his role in the industrialisation of the Soviet Union and in defeating Nazi Germany in World War Two.

Retired builder Vasili Sidamonidze, 70, poses for a portrait at his home in Gori, Georgia

Retired driver Ushangi Davitashvili, 86, poses for a portrait at his home in Tbilisi

Retired economist Otar Chigladze, 82, poses for a portrait at his home in Gori.

Natia Babunashvili, 40, poses for a portrait with her children, 13-year-old Giorgi (left) and Tamuna, 14 (right), at her home in Tbilisi. She says: 'My father was a party b

Retired librarian Tsitsino Tsintsadze, 77, poses for a portrait at her home in Tbilisi. She said: 'I have portraits of Stalin, books about him, souvenirs. Some I bought, some were given to me. My relatives and friends know about my love of Stalin and often gift me memorabilia'