It was easy to believe in the immortality of evil, to forget that every dictator must eventually die. Although even from beyond the grave, Stalin would demand a final sacrifice. Rows of trucks had been placed around the building as a security barrier, and as the crowds surged, people began to be crushed against them. Eyewitnesses reported that hundreds were killed, screaming, “Save Me! Save Me!” as they were pressed and trampled underfoot.29 The Moscow morgues were filled to overflowing, although there was never any public record of this disaster published in the Soviet media.
