A monument to Stalin has been reintroduced in the Moscow metro, coinciding with a patriotic mobilization that celebrates the strength of the USSR—an effort backed by the Kremlin to justify its actions in Ukraine, according to the French Agency (AFP).
This monument, situated in a corridor connecting two lines at Taganskaya station, is a bas-relief featuring men, women, and children with flowers surrounding a sculpture of Stalin (1878–1953) atop a pedestal.
A press release on Saturday indicated that this is a replica of a bas-relief previously displayed at the station until 1966, originally dedicated to the USSR’s World War II victory.
Stalin, who ruled from the late 1920s until his death in 1953, enforced severe repressions that resulted in millions of deaths, yet his legacy remains controversial in Russia.
In recent years, various monuments honoring him have surfaced across the country, often driven by private initiatives and placed in less conspicuous locations.
The bas-relief is titled “The People’s Gratitude to the Military Leader.” Soviet architecture expert Alexander Zinovie notes that while this relief closely resembles the original, it does not exactly replicate the sculpture that was destroyed nearly 60 years ago during de-Stalinization.
Although Russian President Vladimir Putin has, at times, acknowledged Stalin’s crimes, the Kremlin generally minimizes these actions, and victims of Stalinist purges are rarely mentioned in textbooks.
Stalin is often portrayed as a hero of World War II and the defeat of Nazism, emphasizing the USSR’s military prowess—particularly in light of the invasion of Ukraine, where the Kremlin asserts it is combating “neo-Nazis.”
Critics of this narrative face significant repercussions. The Memorial organization, which was actively documenting both Soviet and modern governmental repression, was banned in late 2021.
The liberal opposition party “Yabloko,” although still legally recognized, has been weakened and criticized the newly installed monument in the Moscow metro.
“Reintroducing Stalinist symbols in Moscow distorts history, disrespects the descendants of repression victims, and brings shame to the city,” the party stated in a release.
On the other hand, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation hailed the monument’s return as a “restoration of historical justice” and expressed hope for the establishment of more Stalin monuments in other areas of Moscow.
Most of the many statues honoring Stalin, instruments of his personality cult, were removed during the de-Stalinization efforts following his death and subsequently after the USSR’s collapse in 1991.
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