Stalin's personality today is extraordinary and ambiguous. A person whose role in the history of the twentieth century is difficult to overestimate.
Some consider him a tyrant who has ruined many lives (mass repressions, the Great Terror of 1937, etc.). Some associate Stalin's death with the end of terror and mass repressions, the release of millions of innocent people from prisons.
Others consider him a hero, a great leader (he created a powerful state capable of competing with the United States on equal terms, made him a nuclear power, won the Great Patriotic War, etc.)
The first monument to JV Stalin was made by the sculptor M. Ya. Kharlamov in 1929, on the eve of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Stalin. Monuments to Stalin of significant size, as a rule, were erected in the center of a city, village, village on a central street, a square that often bore the name of Stalin himself, near administrative buildings.
In Moscow, a monument to the leader was erected even in the altar of an Orthodox church
In 1935, the House of Sanitary Enlightenment was opened on Bolshaya Ordynka in the Intercession Cathedral of the Martha-Mariinsky Convent. They made a scene in the altar, erecting a statue of Stalin on the Gorny site.
Often Stalin was portrayed next to Lenin. The monument was called "Lenin and Stalin in Gorki". Such monuments with minor changes were in many cities of the Soviet Union.
After the XX Congress of the CPSU, Stalin was removed from the paired monuments, leaving Lenin alone. In some places, such monuments have survived to this day.
After the XXII Congress of the CPSU in October 1961, at which it was decided to remove Stalin's body from the Mausoleum (the burial took place on October 31, 1961) and rename the city of Stalingrad to Volgograd, almost all the numerous monuments to Stalin that stood throughout the USSR were destroyed and dismantled as part of the final de-Stalinization.
The most famous monuments to Stalin
MOSCOW, RUSSIA
Monument to Stalin at the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition in Moscow
The monument was erected in 1939 for the opening of the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition (VSHV) in front of the "Mechanization and Electrification of Agriculture" pavilion (now "Pavilion No. 32", better known as the "Space" pavilion)
The height of the sculpture is 15 meters, the height of the pedestal is 10 meters
The monument was dismantled in 1951 in accordance with the post-war reconstruction plan of the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition.
After the opening of the exhibition, a fountain appeared on the site of the old monument.
The new monument was supposed to appear on the Kolkhoz Square, but in 1953 it was replaced by the parterre of the "Stone Flower" fountain.
Monument to Stalin in the Muzeon Park of Arts in Moscow
At the 1939 World Exhibition in New York, monuments to V.I. Lenin and I.V. Stalin, made in 1938 from pink granite, were exhibited. After the exhibition, a monument to V.I. by the decision of the Moscow City Council of People's Deputies on October 24, 1991, it was moved to the Park of Arts.
The monument to Stalin was a small copy of the monument in Stalingrad on the Volgo-Don canal. Later, such copies appeared in many cities of the USSR.
LENINGRAD, RUSSIA
Monuments to Stalin at the Baltic Station and on Poklonnaya Hill
Monuments to Stalin on Obukhovskoy Oborony Avenue and Srednaya Slingshot
All of them were installed for the 70th anniversary of the leader, in 1949 and dismantled after the XX Congress of the CPSU
VOLGOGRAD (STALINGRAD), RUSSIA
Monument to Stalin in Stalingrad on the Volgo-Don canal
The height of the sculpture is 24 meters, the height of the pedestal is 30 meters.
In 1961, Stalingrad was renamed Volgograd, 10 days later, within one night, the monument was dismantled. The further fate of the sculpture of the leader of the peoples is unknown. After that, an empty pedestal stood on the embankment for 12 years.
In 1969, it was decided to install a monument to Vladimir Ilyich Lenin on the pedestal.
The height of the sculpture is 27 meters, the height of the pedestal is 30 meters.
TRANS-SIBERIAN HIGHWAY, RUSSIA
Stalin's bust at 7031 (now 6999) km of the Trans-Siberian Railway to the west of the village. Amazar, Trans-Baikal Territory
The bas-relief was erected during the construction of the second tracks of the Trans-Siberian Railway by unknown prisoners in 1936. The base of the bust was a stone outlier with a height of ~ 6 m, located at the top of the ridge at the place of the bend of the railway. The materials used were stone, brick, iron reinforcement and concrete. A bust covered with a plaster, ~ 3 m high, was clearly visible from the line of the railroad.
Approaching the site of the monument, train drivers gave a warning beep so that passengers could see the monument to the leader.
On the occasion of Stalin's 70th birthday (December 21, 1949), spotlights began to illuminate the bust in the dark. Excursion groups often visited it, and a ceremonial reception for the pioneers took place.
On the day of Stalin's funeral, a meeting of passengers of two oncoming trains took place.
In March 1956, it was announced that there was a threat of collapse of a rock mass with a bust on the railway and on September 20, 1956, the bust was blown up.
YEREVAN, ARMENIA
Monument to Stalin in Yerevan, Armenia
The monument was installed in 1950
In 1967, the monument was dismantled, Stalin was removed from the pedestal, Mother Armenia was put
Monument "Mother Armenia" in Haghtanak (Victory) park in Yerevan
Opened in honor of the victory of the Soviet Union in the Great Patriotic War in 1967
The height of the statue is 22 meters, the height of the pastoment is 32 meters
At the base of the monument there is a museum of the Ministry of Defense, which displays exhibits from the times of the Great Patriotic and Karabakh wars: personal belongings, weapons, documents and portraits of heroes. Around the pedestal, samples of weapons of that time are exhibited.
MINSK, BELARUS
Monument to Stalin on Central (October) Square in Minsk, Belarus
The pedestal of the monument to Stalin on the Central Square in Minsk was surrounded by the Belarusian national ornament.
It served as a reminder that Soviet Belarus owes its creation to a decisive degree to the People's Commissar for Nationalities, Comrade Stalin.
On November 3, 1961, the monument was literally "razed to the ground". In the evening, the square was cordoned off around the entire perimeter, and about two hundred onlookers watched what was happening from the square in front of the House of Officers, a residential building on the street. Engels and the nearest courtyards. The monument was hooked to the torso with a steel cable in an arm thick and two tank tractors set to work. On the first attempt, although the engines roared at full power, the monument did not even sway - the tank tracks powerlessly scratched the paving stones with which the square was paved. The second and third attempts also did not bring success. After a while, the monument to the leader was nevertheless rocked and knocked down, and the pedestal was blown up and taken out in pieces. The resulting pit was concreted. By morning, it was even difficult to find a place on the square where the monument stood, and on November 7, a military parade and a demonstration of workers took place on the renovated square.
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY
Monument to Stalin in Budapest, Hungary
It was installed in December 1951 as a gift from the Hungarian people for Stalin's 70th birthday (December 21, 1949).
The height of the bronze statue of Stalin is 8 meters, the height of the pedestal is 17 meters
The monument stood on Dózsa György Avenue, destroyed on October 24, 1956 by a crowd during the 1956 Hungarian Uprising.
On October 23, 1956, a crowd of rebellious Hungarians destroyed the statue, leaving only his boots, in which the Hungarian flag was hoisted. The bronze inscription "Leader, Teacher and Best Friend of the Hungarian People" was stripped from the pedestal.
After the events of 1956, the empty pedestal was reconstructed and for a long time was used as a government tribune during festive processions and demonstrations.
In the early 1990s, the remains of the tribune pedestal were finally dismantled.
In 2006, in the sculpture park of the socialist era in Budapest (Memento Park), a brick pedestal and the lower part of the sculpture - Stalin's boots - were reproduced in a reduced form.
The chopped off Stalinist bootlegs became one of the original symbols of the Hungarian revolution
GORI, GEORGIA
Monument to Stalin in Gori, Georgia
Installed in 1952
The height of the statue is 6 meters, the height of the 3-tiered pedestal is 9 meters.
They wanted to remove the monument in 1956 and even tried to do it, but the population of Gori pitched tents and guarded the monument day and night.
On the night of June 24-25, 2010, the Stalin monument was dismantled for later relocation. In its place will be a monument dedicated to those killed during the August 2008 war.
The dismantling of the statue was organized at night to avoid protests from the local population, some of whom are categorically against the removal of the monument. At the same time, the surrounding area was cordoned off, journalists were not allowed to shoot.
ULAN BATOR, MONGOLIA
Monument to Stalin in Ulan Bator, Mongolia
The monument was erected in 1949.
After the XX Congress of the CPSU, despite the personal request of Nikita Khrushchev, the government of Mongolia refused to dismantle the monument. The monument stood in front of the Mongolian National Library until 1990.
The dismantled statue was sprinkled with milk and milk vodka. This was done in order "so that the spirit of Stalin, thus pacified, will never return." The sculpture was sent to storage in the library's utility rooms, where it was kept in a specially made wooden box. The pedestal of the monument was also dismantled.
In 2001, a four-meter statue of Stalin was purchased by an entrepreneur and installed in the Ismus summer cafe.
In June 2005, in its place, a monument to Stalin was solemnly opened a monument to the Mongolian scientist B. Rinchin.
TASHKENT, UZBEKISTAN
Monument to Stalin in the Revolution Square in Tashkent, Uzbekistan
(Funeral meeting in March 1953)
The monument was opened at the end of the 40s for the anniversary of Stalin
In 1962, the monument was dismantled, and the pedestal was used for the monument "Peace Labor Freedom ...." People called this monument "Russian-Uzbek dictionary". It stood until 1968. From 1968 to 1993, there was a monument to Marx on this site.
On August 31, 1994, on the eve of the third anniversary of Uzbekistan's independence, the park was renamed "Amir Temur Square", and a new monument was opened in its center - a bronze equestrian monument to Tamerlane.
In November 2009, old elm and plane trees, many of which were over 100 years old and which were a symbol of the park, were cut down by the decision of the authorities and everything became bare again.
ODESSA, UKRAINE
Monument to Stalin in Odessa, Ukraine
In the post-war years, a gigantic model of the USSR was created on the lawn in the city garden. And in the middle there was a monument to the leader. Odessans who lived at that time still remember the post-war years with the words: "It was hungry to live. But it was fun." The terrible war was over.
PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
Monument to Stalin in Prague ("The people of Czechoslovakia to their liberator")
Nikita Khrushchev came to the opening of the monument and presented it to the creators of the Order of Lenin.
The weight of the monument is 14,000 tons, length - 22, width - 12 and height - 15 meters, consists of 32 thousand stone fragments
After the XX Congress of the CPSU, at which the First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee NS Khrushchev sharply criticized I.V. Stalin, it was decided to dismantle the monument. In 1962, the sculptural composition was blown up. After the first explosion, only granite cladding blocks crumbled, exposing the reinforced concrete structure. In order to finally destroy the monument, it took the second and third explosions. The latter was held on the eve of the celebration of the 45th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution, November 7, 1962. The operation to liquidate the sculpture cost 4.5 million kroons, while the construction cost 140 million (according to some sources, 260 million kroons).
In 1991 in Prague during the General Czechoslovak Exhibition on the site of the monument to Stalin, it was decided to put a giant metronome on an old pedestal. The rod length was 20 meters. According to the original plan, at the end of the exhibition, the metronome was to be dismantled, but then the city authorities decided to leave the attraction.
The club "For Old Prague" came up with an unusual idea: to add the base of the former monument to Joseph Stalin to the list of historical monuments protected by the state. The proposal of the club is connected with the fact that the magistrate is thinking about the idea of opening an Oceanarium for 250 sea fish at Letna, for which, in particular, the granite site of the monument will be used.
March 5 marks another anniversary of the "official" death of I.V. Stalin.
About the funeral of the leader.
And today there will be a completely different topic. As you know, Stalin was the only leader of the USSR to whom monuments were erected during his lifetime. And literally in every city. Somewhere these were rather modest typical sculptures, and somewhere they were truly monumental works that for a long time became part of the image of the city. Thousands of tons of granite, the labor of an army of builders and the best master sculptors. Almost all of this was swept away overnight immediately after the 22nd Congress of the CPSU, held in October 1961.
Now only local historians can remember where in their city once stood the formidable figure of the leader.
Let's remember too. Supplement with information and photos about your city.
In the center stood a rather modest sculpture opposite the entrance to the Tretyakov Gallery (photo by Lawrence Monthey, 1959):
The monument, erected in 1939, after dismantling, was moved to the courtyard of the State Tretyakov Gallery.
There was also another monument in the capital.
Moscow Monument to Stalin on the Mechanization Square (1939): 
Panorama: 
Astrakhan 
Balashov. Monument to Stalin in Kuibyshev Park 
Vilnius. Monument to Stalin at the station square 
Vladimir. Cathedral Square
Burn. In Stalin's small homeland, the monument to him lasted until June 25, 2010: 
Grozny. Monument to Stalin, corner of Ordzhonikidze Avenue and st. Cr. front-line soldiers. Demolished in 1957.
Dubna 
Yerevan: 
Kaliningrad. View of the street Zhitomirskaya and a square, equipped between it and st. Teatralnaya, after the transfer of the monument to I.V. Stalin works by E.V. Vuchetich: 
Now Mother Russia stands there: 
Kiev. Monument to Stalin on pl. Stalin (European) in the late 1930s: 
Kislovodsk, 1954 
Leningrad, Baltic station 
Makhachkala. Square them. Stalin (now Lenin). 1940s 
Minsk, Central Square 1960 
Minsk, Central Square 1961 
Novorossiysk. Monument to I.V. Stalin at the cinema "Moscow" 
Omsk, 1959 
Petrozavodsk 
Rostov-on-Don 1955 
Sevastopol, railway railway station 
Simferopol. Privokzalnaya square, 1960-61 
Smolensk, 1963
Sochi. Monument to Stalin in the area of the Sochi circus on Kurortny prospect
For this post. Below the cut are photographs of monuments to our leader and teacher that still exist today. But, as the author writes, this is not all. I would be grateful to friends and foes for making additions to this list. I remind you that soon the list will be replenished with a monument to Stalin. in Zaporozhye... I plan to be there in person
Monument to Stalin in Moscow in the MUSEION park near the Central House of Artists
In the Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War on Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow, there is a bust of Stalin, as one of the commanders of the Red Army.
Monument to Stalin in the courtyard of the Tretyakov Gallery
Currently, in public places in Russia, monuments to Stalin are installed in Chelyabinsk (gymnasium school No. 2), in the village of Taiginka (Kyshtym, Chelyabinsk region), on Oktyabrskaya Square in the city of Ishim, in Vyritsa (Leningrad region), in the Tyumen region, on railway station Skuratovo in the Tula region.
The village of Vyritsa, Leningrad Region (to my shame, having a dacha nearby, I have never met this monument - shame on me)
A bas-relief to Stalin on Commune Street in St. Petersburg. Until recently it was covered with a special bar, but after restoration it again pleases us with the profile of the Leader. 
On the stele of the Memorial in honor of 1200 guardsmen of the 11th Guards Army in Kaliningrad 
Monument in Groto Park (Lithuania)
Ukraine, Zaporozhye region, Mikhailovsky district, Fertile village
An excerpt from a newspaper article on this matter:
There is the only monument to Stalin in Ukraine in the Mikhailovsky district
And no one encroaches on the figure of the Soviet leader. The initiator of the installation of the monument on the main street of the village of Fertile is a private entrepreneur Leonid Vereshchaga,.
In order to assemble the monument, three years ago I had to look for the missing details of the figure, even in a landfill. The figure of Stalin is just one of the original "exhibits" of the alley of history, there are also monuments to Lenin, Zhdanov, Sverdlov, as well as a lorry of wartime and a MiG aircraft. By the way, this unique "museum" began with him, which this year celebrates its fifth anniversary. According to L. Vereshchaga, “the monuments have no artistic value, but they are symbols of their era. And in order to understand the future, one must not forget about the past. "
Outside Russia, there are monuments in The Hague (Netherlands), Georgia (Kutaisi, Gori, Zestafoni, Sighnaghi, Dusheti, Khashuri and other places.), Belarus, Ukraine, Albania 
Monument to the Leader on the "Stalin Line" in Belarus. 
Gori city, Georgia
Reconstructed monument in Kutaisi, Georgia
The village "Old Ikan" in Kazakhstan.
How the monument has survived to this day: “When after the 20th Congress of the CPSU the statue was ordered to be demolished, the villagers opposed this. The protest of the villagers ended with the monument standing in the courtyard of the village council. Later, the land on which the monument is located was bought by a local resident. A house was built nearby, and a monument was left in the courtyard. "
North Ossetia. Tseyskoe gorge. Portrait on a stone.
Kurtat Gorge, North Ossetia, Alania, pos. Upper Fiagdon.
Monument to Stalin in Beslan. 
This bust stands in the city of Zelenokumsk (Stavropol Territory), it was found in a pond, it was cleaned and installed on the outskirts of the city next to one of the illegal city dumps, after which the dump began to rapidly decrease in size.
Monument in the Park-Museum of the city of Atkarsk. 
Monument in the Village of Taiginka, Chelyabinsk Region
Belarus.
The monument was erected on the outskirts of The Hague in the early 90s, where the red-light district soon expanded. In connection with repeated cases of vandalism at the end of 2002, the monument was moved to the area of the museum complex in the city center.
Shkoder city, Albania.
Water tower in the city of Novgorod-Seversky, Chernihiv region of Ukraine
Gurjaani. Bust of Stalin with a girl.
For this post. Below the cut are photographs of monuments to our leader and teacher that still exist today. But, as the author writes, this is not all. I would be grateful to friends and foes for making additions to this list. Let me remind you that soon. I plan to be there in person
Monument to Stalin in Moscow in the MUSEION park near the Central House of Artists
In the Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War on Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow, there is a bust of Stalin, as one of the commanders of the Red Army.Monument to Stalin in the courtyard of the Tretyakov Gallery
Currently, in public places in Russia, monuments to Stalin are installed in Chelyabinsk (gymnasium school No. 2), in the village of Taiginka (Kyshtym, Chelyabinsk region), on Oktyabrskaya Square in the city of Ishim, in Vyritsa (Leningrad region), in the Tyumen region, on railway station Skuratovo in the Tula region.
The village of Vyritsa, Leningrad Region (to my shame, having a dacha nearby, I have never met this monument - shame on me)
A bas-relief to Stalin on Commune Street in St. Petersburg. Until recently it was covered with a special bar, but after restoration it again pleases us with the profile of the Leader.
On the stele of the Memorial in honor of 1200 guardsmen of the 11th Guards Army in Kaliningrad
Monument in Groto Park (Lithuania)
Ukraine, Zaporozhye region, Mikhailovsky district, Fertile village
An excerpt from a newspaper article on this matter:
There is the only monument to Stalin in Ukraine in the Mikhailovsky district
And no one encroaches on the figure of the Soviet leader. The initiator of the installation of the monument on the main street of the village of Fertile is a private entrepreneur Leonid Vereshchaga,.
In order to assemble the monument, three years ago I had to look for the missing details of the figure, even in a landfill. The figure of Stalin is just one of the original "exhibits" of the alley of history, there are also monuments to Lenin, Zhdanov, Sverdlov, as well as a lorry of wartime and a MiG aircraft. By the way, this unique "museum", which celebrates its fifth anniversary this year, began with him. According to L. Vereshchaga, "the monuments have no artistic value, but they are symbols of their era. And in order to understand the future, one must not forget about the past."
Outside Russia, there are monuments in The Hague (Netherlands), Georgia (Kutaisi, Gori, Zestafoni, Sighnaghi, Dusheti, Khashuri and other places.), Belarus, Ukraine, Albania
Monument to the Leader on the "Stalin Line" in Belarus.
Gori, Georgia
Reconstructed monument in Kutaisi, Georgia
The village "Old Ikan" in Kazakhstan.
How the monument has survived to this day: "When, after the XX Congress of the CPSU, the statue was ordered to be demolished, the villagers opposed this. The protest of the villagers ended with the fact that the monument remained standing in the courtyard of the village council. Later, the land on which the monument is located was bought by a local resident. a house was built, and a monument was left in the courtyard. "
North Ossetia. Tseyskoe gorge. Portrait on a stone.
Kurtatinsky gorge, North Ossetia, Alania, pos. Upper Fiagdon.
Monument to Stalin in Beslan.
This bust stands in the city of Zelenokumsk (Stavropol Territory), it was found in a pond, it was cleaned and installed on the outskirts of the city next to one of the illegal city dumps, after which the dump began to rapidly decrease in size.
Monument in the Park-Museum of the city of Atkarsk.
Monument in the Taiginka Village, Chelyabinsk Region
Belarus.
The monument was erected on the outskirts of The Hague in the early 90s, where the red-light district soon expanded. In connection with repeated cases of vandalism at the end of 2002, the monument was moved to the area of the museum complex in the city center.
Shkoder city, Albania.
Water tower in the city of Novgorod-Seversky, Chernihiv region of UkraineGurjaani. Bust of Stalin with a girl.
Ekatirinburg
Novocherkassk.
Monument to Stalin, Roosevelt and Chechel in Sochi.
Bust of Stalin in Vladimir.
Mirny, Yakutia.
Monument to Generalissimo Stalin from WWII veterans and grateful descendants. Opened May 9, 2005.
Ishim, Tyumen region.
Georgia.
,
Albania, Tirana
And these are far from all the monuments to Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin, standing all over the world in memory of this great man ...
MOSCOW, September 21 - RIA Novosti, Victoria Salnikova. Recently, busts of Stalin appeared in several Russian cities at once. RIA Novosti found out who puts them and why.
Victims of repression
Social activists in Surgut unauthorizedly installed a bust of StalinThey stated that they are ready for trial if the monument is recognized as unlawfully installed. The bust was installed on the Ob embankment; about 50 people, including veterans, took part in the installation.Surgut. Ob River embankment. Last week, activists installed a bust of Joseph Stalin here. On a gold plaque attached to the monument, it is written in italics: "After death, a lot of rubbish will be applied to my grave, but the wind of history will scatter it." The monument is only a few days old, but it has already split the 350-thousandth city into two camps. Some demand that it be demolished immediately, others are ready to defend "Stalin's" right to life in court. True, the latter will have to try: the activists were in such a hurry to install the bust that they did not wait for the permission of the city administration.
Despite the illegal status of the monument, carnations are carried to it. They are of the same color as the paint that ill-wishers have smeared on the bust for the second time - red. Symbols that are hard not to count. If you stand with your back to the Ob River and look a little higher, you can see the place where another monument should appear - to the victims of political repression. This is reported by a discreet sign. The place was not chosen by chance: here was the village of Black Cape, which was founded by peasants exiled to the Far North.
Denis Khanzhin, the initiator of the installation of the bust of Stalin, the leader of the public organization "Russian Spirit", is sure that they have chosen the right place for him. From here, during the Great Patriotic War, the inhabitants of Surgut left for the front. When I asked about the monument to the victims of political repression, he replied that he did not know about the plans.
"It is located more than a hundred meters away. This plaque has stood for many years, we did not even notice it. They still cannot raise six million. Although in 2012 they were allocated a budget million. We generally doubt that this monument will ever will appear, "he said.
The monument to the victims of repression was not erected for a banal reason - there is no money. According to Pavel Akimov, head of the Our Memory social movement, a descendant of the repressed peasants, they really received a grant, but this amount is not enough. “We thought that the city administration should erect a monument, but they referred to a lack of funds. We have to do it on our own, and we are all pensioners. anniversary of the terror, "he said.
Denis believes that the problem around the monument to the repressed is "inflated" by the liberal-minded public. According to him, there are "many of them" in Surgut. "The repressed were convicted under the articles. Naturally, there were innocent victims. We sympathize with these people. There should be a monument, but it should not be inflated! 40 million ( according to the data of the human rights organization "Memorial", from 11 to 39 million people became victims of repression during the Soviet period, - ed.)! Who would work in the country if 40 million were imprisoned or were shot! "- he said.
The bust of Stalin installed in Surgut was doused with paint for the second timeA member of the initiative group for the installation of the monument, Denis Khanzhin, announced the publication of a petition to recognize the bust of Joseph Stalin as a cultural heritage site of Russia.Denis added that Joseph Stalin himself became a victim of political repression during the Khrushchev era. But Peter Akimov is unlikely to agree with him, as well as the descendants of the repressed who still live in Surgut - there are about a thousand people. The local university also spoke out against the installation of a bust of Stalin, so the controversy is ongoing at all levels. To my remark that the monument to the General Secretary electrified the atmosphere in the city, Denis replied that the people had long been divided "into the descendants of the winners and losers of the Great Patriotic War." “The losers are people who believe that we lived under the occupation of the Soviet Union, that enemy power seized the Russian Empire, these are the same Vlasov and Bandera who, when the Nazis came, immediately sided with them. Many of them were exiled to Siberia. To work for the good of the Motherland, "he added.
Now Denis and other activists are seeking legal status for the bust of Stalin. They created a petition on a popular Internet site: they want to recognize it as cultural heritage. Petr Akimov is no less categorical: the bust will not stand in Surgut.
“When I found out about the installation, I immediately called the administration, they told me that it was illegal. There should have been a decision by the public council under the head of the city, the meeting will be held on September 30. There was a commission on toponymy, but it did not determine the location. And then they installed opposite our monument on municipal land without any agreement with the city administration. Ultimately it will be demolished, "Akimov said.
From Novosibirsk to Kazan
Surgut is not the only city where a monument to Stalin appeared. The bust of the "leader of the peoples" was recently erected with their own money by residents of the Sochi village of Plastunka. Two more may be installed in Kazan and Novosibirsk in the near future. The activists have already presented projects. As in the case of Surgut, public opinion was divided.
Kazan activists plan to erect a monument in Victory Park on the Walk of Fame. As RIA Novosti was told by a member of the initiative group Ravil Garifullin, now they are "overcoming the bureaucratic mechanism." Fundraising has not yet been announced, they want to first sort out the necessary documents.
“In our opinion, the contribution of Generalissimo Joseph Stalin to the victory over Nazi Germany is underestimated. There were almost no citizens who vividly expressed their indignation against the installation of the monument. A couple of people said that they were repressed. But those repressed by law receive a 50 percent discount for everything - for education, and for medicine. Do not forget, in that era, citizens were convicted by the court, it was not lynching Stalin alone. We say in fact - we won the war, the merits are forgotten. For information, Stalin is still a Hero of the Soviet Union, "he said.
In Novosibirsk, a bust of Stalin can be placed in the Heroes of the Revolution square, it is located in the city center. This is a memorial monument on the territory of which the mass graves of the victims of the Civil War are located. The initiators are people from the All-Union Communist Party of the Bolsheviks. According to activist Aleksey Denisyuk, fundraising is open; in the near future they will order a bust from a sculptor in North Ossetia.
“We have come forward with this initiative for a long time, since about 2006. Stalin visited Novosibirsk twice. At one time, there were many monuments to him in our city. Although it is believed that the founder of Novosibirsk was Alexander III, he became the largest industrial, cultural and political center During the period of Stalin's leadership of the country. For us, Stalin is the great leader of the Soviet state, who in the shortest possible time was able to create an industry, prepare the country for defense and defeat Nazi Germany, "he said.
The decision to place the bust will be made on September 22 during a meeting of the city's artistic council.
Dmitry Kholyavchenko, a member of the administration of the Novosibirsk Open University, opposes the installation of a bust of Stalin. He created a petition on the Internet site, which at the moment has been signed by 760 people out of a thousand necessary.
“We count on the sound position of the artistic council. They must take into account the wishes of not only a small group of the population who wants to dump associations with some, in our opinion, unpleasant events in Russian history, into the public space,” he said.
If a positive decision is made, Dmitry promises to initiate rallies and pickets. In his opinion, in Novosibirsk, where the descendants of the repressed live, there should not be a monument to Stalin.
"For many in Novosibirsk, repression is not an abstract problem, but the history of their family. We believe that Novosibirsk has already discredited itself as a city with a pleasant cultural and ideological environment, if we recall the pressure, for example, on Monstration. This reduces its investment attractiveness. We also believe that now is not the time to create unnecessary points of tension within society, "Dmitry said.
Soft restalinization
Throughout history, the attitude towards Stalin in Russia has changed many times. During the reign of Nikita Khrushchev, active de-Stalinization was carried out, but under Leonid Brezhnev, the leader was rehabilitated. Modern Russia, having gone through the stage of denial of the Soviet past in the 1990s, has now entered a phase of restalinization.
"From the point of view of positioning and consolidation of the population, the Russian government repeats the political technological methods of the Brezhnev period. Under him, the Soviet government built the consolidation of the population around the core of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War. The first Victory Parade took place in 1945, after this event it was not for 20 years - until 1965 year, the first year of Brezhnev's rule. The Russian government copies these practices, and this requires the cult of Stalin's personality, but not, of course, on the scale in which it was under Stalin himself, "said Pavel Salin, director of the Center for Political Research at the Financial University.
Salin noted that mass mythology also influences the perception of Stalin's figure. People quickly forget the bad, remember only the good - this is a feature of the psyche. “The majority of the population in that era did not live and the impression about it is made up of works that form mass mythology - books, films, etc. now it affects with a plus sign. We see that the figure of Stalin in the works of mass culture is illuminated either neutrally or moderately positively, "he added.
