Moscow, Oct. 14 : Yevgeny Dzhugashvili, a grandson of Soviet Union dictator Josef Stalin, has lost a legal battle to rehabilitate the latter’s murderous reputation posthumously.

A Russian court threw out a libel case filed by Dzhugashvili, who had sued Novaya Gazeta, a liberal newspaper, for printing an article that referred to Stalin as a "bloodthirsty cannibal."

The ruling is a rare victory for Russia''s embattled liberal elite who believe the Kremlin is using Stalin''s strongman image to boost patriotic fervor and legitimise its own tough tactics.

Dzhugashvili, who lives in Georgia and never appeared at the trial himself, alleged the article had offended his grandfather’s honour and dignity, reports The Telegraph.

In particular, he took issue with a claim that Stalin had personally signed the death warrant of hundreds of thousands of "enemies of the state" shot during the "Great Terror" in the 1930s.

Dzhugashvili''s legal team argued that Stalin did not personally sign the warrants, that many of the people killed really were enemies of the state and that ill-wishers had besmirched the dictator''s image unfairly since his death in 1953.

Stalin''s great-grandson claimed Stalin was the victim of "historical propaganda."

Novaya Gazeta and many others were amazed that a court even deigned to hear such a case. (ANI)