Suddenly somebody in the hall sneezes loudly. Everyone gasps in terror.

Stalin looks sternly at the audience, and says, "Who sneezed?".

Nobody confesses, so Stalin claps his hands. A platoon of NKVD troops with automatic weapons barges in, drags the front row out in the hallway and shoots them.

"I will ask again - who sneezed?" Nobody confesses, so the process is repeated with the second row.

After the third row has been dragged out and shot without anyone confessing, an old man in the rear, a devout Communist, decides to sacrifice himself for the younger comrades, stands up and bravely proclaims: "I sneezed, Comrade Stalin!".

Stalin looks at him sternly for a moment. "Bless you, comrade!". And he continues with the speech.