A monument to Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, erected in the Moscow metro, has sparked controversy. While some Russians welcome it as a historical recognition, others say it is wrong to pay tribute to a man responsible for immense suffering, Reuters reports.
A life-size sculpture at the Taganskaya metro station depicts Stalin standing in Red Square, surrounded by a crowd of admiring Soviet citizens. It is a reconstruction of a monument that was erected at the same station in 1950, three years before Stalin's death.
The Moscow Metro said the original monument was “lost” in 1966 when Taganskaya station was reconstructed.
Nearly 700.000 people were executed during Stalin's Great Terror of 1937-38, with show trials and purges of his real and imagined enemies. Many more Soviet citizens were sent to the Gulag, a network of camps spread across the world's largest country.
The Moscow Metro said in a statement that the new version of the monument, unveiled to the public on May 15, is one of its "gifts" to passengers on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of this vast transport network, which is famous for its efficiency.
The original title of the work, “The Gratitude of the People to the Leader and Commander,” is dedicated to Stalin's role in the Soviet Union's victory in World War II.
"This man (Stalin) created a lot," said Yevgeny Ivanov, a Moscow resident who came to see the new monument on Wednesday.
"He has something to be proud of. And it's not up to us to tear it down. The man did something, we should respect what he did."
Kirill Frolov, also a Muscovite, said he agreed that Stalin's legacy was "mixed" and that we cannot consider him "good."
However, he stated that Stalin's role as a victor in the war and the successful industrialization of the Soviet Union were evidence that he achieved real results and deserved to be remembered.
"This man has done more for our country than anyone else. That's why I think this (the new monument) is a good thing and there should be more of them... Because generations born, say, after the 2000s, have no idea who he is at all."
Others condemned the monument. The Moscow branch of the liberal Yabloko party issued an official protest against what they called “the return of a monument to a tyrant and dictator” and called on the Moscow Metro to focus instead on commemorating the victims of Stalin’s repression.
"The return of the symbol of Stalinism to Moscow is a spit in the face of history and a mockery of the descendants of the oppressed," Yabloko said in a statement.
Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev denounced Stalin for his brutality and crimes in 1956, and his images were later systematically removed as part of a campaign of de-Stalinization. Reuters reports that in recent years, some Stalin monuments have begun to reappear in some places, although his legacy remains deeply divisive in Russian society.
Alexander Zinoviev, a researcher and expert on Soviet architecture, believes that the new monument and the period it evokes have certain parallels with the current mood in Russia, which is in conflict with the West over the war in Ukraine.
“It’s the same self-isolation, the same conservative ideology and reliance on one’s own strength,” Zinoviev said.
"And this topic with Stalin, with his aesthetics... that we should trust the leader and be happy, not criticize the government, that is very much in line with our times."
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