Monuments to Stalin, one of the leaders of the former Soviet Union (USSR) who personified victory over the Nazis – but who also commanded a regime of terror and claimed millions of victims – are rare in Russia.
This inauguration also comes as the Kremlin insists on classifying its military offensive against Ukraine as a “denazification” operation, in keeping with the legacy of World War II.
According to footage from Ria Novosti, local politicians and other representatives of the city of Volgograd unveiled this bust of Stalin along with two military leaders famous for their role in the Battle of Stalingrad, Georgy Zhukov and Alexander Vasilyevsky.
Under a gray sky and under the gaze of dozens of spectators, soldiers laid flowers at the feet of the three bronze busts.
Back in the USSR: In Volgograd, the Russians unveiled the monument to Stalin. Some 1,400 people reportedly attended. I will not be surprised if among them were the descendants of those who were suppressed by Stalin because memory became very short in the present time. #Russia. pic.twitter.com/0idrTwqwOk
Hanna Liubakova (@HannaLiubakova) February 1, 2023
According to the artist Sergey Shcherbakov, responsible for the realization and interviewed by the local media V1.ru, “everything was fast, the order had to be fulfilled in a short time.”
This morning, the ceremonies in honor of the Soviet Union’s victory in Stalingrad began with the laying of a wreath next to the Eternal Flame, over the common grave of the city’s defenders.
February 1 and 2 were declared public holidays by the Volgograd authorities. The celebration comes nearly a year after President Vladimir Putin ordered the offensive to begin in Ukraine on February 24.
For Russians, Stalingrad is synonymous with victory over the Nazis and this battle is central to the patriotism promoted by the Kremlin.
Vladimir Putin continues to describe Ukrainian authorities as “neo-Nazis”, who according to the Russian president are determined to wipe out the Russian-speaking population of eastern Ukraine.
Source: DN
