A Moscow court has rejected a lawsuit¹ filed by the grandson of Joseph Stalin claiming a Russian newspaper had defamed the Soviet² dictator.

一座莫斯科法庭驳回了约瑟夫斯大林的外孙关于一家俄国报社诽谤前苏维埃独裁者的诉讼。

Yevgeny Dzhugashvili accused the newspaper of lying

Yevgeny Dzhugashvili said an article published in Novaya Gazeta claiming Stalin personally ordered the deaths of Soviet citizens was a lie.

He had requested a public apology and damages from the opposition³ newspaper.

But the court rejected his petition（请愿，祈求）. Russian media said its reasons would be made public later.

The Novaya Gazeta had published a piece referring to declassified⁴ death warrants（死刑执行令，致命打击）, which it said bore Stalin's personal signature.

Mr Dzhugashvili had argued that this was a lie and that Stalin never directly ordered any deaths.

The case was seen by many as part of a Kremlin-backed campaign to rehabilitate⁵（恢复） Stalin's reputation, correspondents say.

Mr Dzhugashvili has five days to appeal against the ruling.

He was not in court for the verdict, but it was greeted with applause by some present, and shouts of "shame" from others, Russian state-owned news agency Ria Novosti reported.