“The names of Bolshevik figures must be erased from our country’s map. Portraying Stalin as the winner of the war is a flagrant lie. Our people won the war, not because of but despite Stalin’s repressions.”(Leonid Gozman)
I don’t know if what Leonid Gozman says is right, but the analytical logic behind the expression “not because of but despite” might apply in some cases.
Yuri, he was referring specifically to the expression ‘not because of but despite’, not the meaning of the word ‘despite’, which I imagine tora3 is already familiar with.
I stopped using my iPhone not despite but because of its extreme versatility. I am now using a not-so-smart ordinary cell phone and an iPad. The latter is always connected to the Internet, so I can do almost everything I used to do with my iPhone.