Reinstating the name Stalingrad on a permanent basis

Resurrecting Stalin — Again

Vladimir Kara-Murza

Russia’s ruling regime is persisting in its attempts to rehabilitate the name of Joseph Stalin. For Vladimir Putin, this has been a consistent course—from the reinstated melody of Stalin’s national anthem to new school textbooks justifying Stalin’s mass purges as “adequate to the task of modernization.” In 2010, as Russia marked the 65th annivesary of victory in the Second World War, the authorities attempted to “decorate” the streets of Moscow with portraits of the dictator—but wereforced to back down in the face of strong opposition from veterans, civil society groups, and the Russian Orthodox Church.

Now, the attempts are being repeated in connection with the 70th anniversary of victory in the Battle of Stalingrad, a turning point in the war that stopped the eastward advance of Nazi Germany. Once again, just as in Soviet times, the regime is trying to equate the heroism and sacrifice of the people with the name of a mass murderer. In advance of the anniversary, the Volgograd City Duma passed a lawthat officially renames the city “Stalingrad” for six days of the year, including the anniversary of the end of the battle (February 2nd), Victory Day (May 9th) and the day of the end of the Second World War (September 2nd).

But six days, it appears, was not enough. Putin’s deputy prime minister, Dmitri Rogozin, has called for reinstating the name Stalingrad on a permanent basis. 

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