Stalin's personality today is extraordinary and ambiguous. A personality whose role in the history of the twentieth century is quite difficult to overestimate.
Some consider him a tyrant who destroyed many lives (mass repressions, the great terror of 1937, etc.). Some people associate Stalin's death with the end of terror and mass repressions and the release of millions of innocent people from prison.
Others consider him a hero, a great leader (he created a powerful state capable of competing on equal terms with the United States, made him a nuclear power, won the Great Patriotic War, etc.)
The first monument to J.V. Stalin was made by sculptor M.Ya. Kharlamov in 1929, on the eve of the celebration of Stalin’s 50th birthday. Monuments to Stalin of significant size, as a rule, were installed in the center of the city, village, town main street, a square that often bore the name of Stalin himself, near administrative buildings.
In Moscow, a monument to the leader was even installed in the altar of an Orthodox church
In 1935, on Bolshaya Ordynka in the Intercession Cathedral of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent, the House of Sanitary Education was opened. They set up a stage in the altar, placing a statue of Stalin in the High Place.
Stalin was often depicted next to Lenin. The monument was called "Lenin and Stalin in Gorki". Such monuments with minor modifications were in many cities Soviet Union.
After the 20th Congress of the CPSU, Stalin began to be removed from the twin 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 (burial took place on October 31, 1961) and rename the city of Stalingrad to Volgograd, almost all of 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 Stalin
MOSCOW, RUSSIA
Monument to Stalin at the All-Russian Agricultural Exhibition in Moscow
The monument was erected in 1939 for the opening of the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition (VSKhV) in front of the Mechanization and Electrification pavilion agriculture"(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 plan for the reconstruction of the All-Russian Agricultural Exhibition.
After the opening of the exhibition, a fountain appeared on the site of the old monument.
A new monument was supposed to appear on Kolkhoz Square, but in 1953 its place was taken by the ground floor of the Stone Flower fountain.
Monument to Stalin in the Muzeon Art Park 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, the monument to V. I. Lenin was erected in Kyiv on Bessarabia Square, and the monument to I. V. Stalin was first in Moscow in Izmailovsky Park (then Stalin Park), during the time of the “cult of personality” it was removed, and then, By 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 Volga-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 Obukhov Defense Avenue and Srednyaya Rogatka
All of them were installed for the 70th anniversary of the leader, in 1949, and dismantled after the 20th 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, the monument was dismantled during one night. Further fate sculpture of the leader of the peoples is unknown. After that, for 12 years there was an empty pedestal on the embankment.
In 1969, a decision was made 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
Bust of Stalin at 7031 (now 6999) km of the Trans-Siberian Railway west of the village. Amazar, Trans-Baikal Territory
The bas-relief was built 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 outcropping ~6 m high, located at the top of the ridge at the bend of the railway. The materials used were stone, brick, iron reinforcement and concrete. The bust, ~3 m high, covered with lime, was clearly visible from the line of the iron road.
Approaching the location of the monument, train drivers sounded a warning whistle so that passengers could see the monument to the leader.
For Stalin’s 70th birthday (December 21, 1949), spotlights began to illuminate the bust at night. Excursion groups often visited here, and a ceremonial reception for pioneers took place.
On the day of Stalin's funeral, a rally of passengers from two oncoming trains took place.
In March 1956 it was announced that there was a threat of collapse of the rock mass with the bust on railway and on September 20, 1956, the bust was blown up.
YEREVAN, ARMENIA
Monument to Stalin in Yerevan, Armenia
The monument was erected in 1950
In 1967, the monument was dismantled, Stalin was removed from the pedestal, and Mother Armenia was erected
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 paste is 32 meters
At the base of the monument there is a museum of the Ministry of Defense, which displays exhibits from the Great Patriotic and Karabakh wars: personal belongings, weapons, documents and portraits of heroes. Around the pedestal are displayed samples of weapons of that time.
MINSK, BELARUS
Monument to Stalin on Central (Oktyabrskaya) Square in Minsk, Belarus
Pedestal of the monument to Stalin on Central Square in Minsk was surrounded by Belarusian national ornaments.
It served as a reminder that Soviet Belarus owes its creation to a decisive extent to Comrade Stalin, People's Commissar for Nationalities.
On November 3, 1961, the monument was literally “razed to the ground.” In the evening, the square was cordoned off along the entire perimeter, and about two hundred onlookers watched what was happening from the park in front of the House of Officers, a residential building on the street. Engels and nearby courtyards. The monument was hooked to the torso with a hand-thick steel cable and two tank tractors got to work. On the first attempt, although the engines roared at full speed, the monument did not even sway - the tank tracks helplessly scratched the paving stones with which the square was paved. The second and third attempts also did not bring success. After some time, the monument to the leader was eventually shaken and toppled, and the pedestal was blown up and taken out in pieces. The resulting pit was concreted. By morning, it was even difficult to find the place where the monument stood on the square, and on November 7, a military parade and 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 on Stalin's seventieth 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 Hungarian Uprising of 1956.
On October 23, 1956, a crowd of rebel Hungarians destroyed the statue, leaving only his boots, in which the Hungarian flag was hoisted. Bronze inscription "Leader, teacher and best friend of the Hungarian people" was torn from its pedestal.
After the events of 1956, the empty pedestal was reconstructed and for a long time was used as a government platform during festive processions and demonstrations.
In the early 1990s, the remains of the pedestal-tribune were finally dismantled.
In 2006, in the socialist era sculpture park in Budapest (Memento Park), the brick pedestal and the lower part of the sculpture - Stalin's boots - were reproduced in a reduced form.
Stalin's chopped off boots became one of the unique 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-tier 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 monument to Stalin was dismantled for subsequent relocation. In its place a monument dedicated to those killed during the August 2008 war will be erected.
The dismantling of the statue was organized at night to avoid protests from outside local population, part of which is categorically against moving the monument. At the same time, the surrounding area was cordoned off, and journalists were not allowed to film.
ULAN BATOR, MONGOLIA
Monument to Stalin in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
The monument was erected in 1949.
After the 20th Congress of the CPSU, despite the personal request of Nikita Khrushchev, the Mongolian government refused to dismantle the monument. The monument stood opposite the Mongolian National Library up to 1990.
The dismantled statue was sprinkled with milk and milk vodka. This was done so that “the spirit of Stalin, thus appeased, would never return.” The sculpture was sent for storage to the library's utility rooms, where it was kept in a specially made wooden box. The monument's pedestal was also dismantled.
In 2001, a four-meter statue of Stalin was purchased by an entrepreneur and installed in the summer cafe "Ismus".
In June 2005, in its place, a monument to Stalin was inaugurated with a monument to the Mongolian scientist B. Rinchin.
TASHKENT, UZBEKISTAN
Monument to Stalin in Revolution Square in Tashkent, Uzbekistan
(Mourning meeting in March 1953)
The monument was opened in the late 40s for the anniversary of Stalin
In 1962, the monument was dismantled, and the pedestal was used for the monument "Peace Labor Freedom...." This monument was popularly nicknamed " 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 the independence of Uzbekistan, the square was renamed “Amir Temur Square”, and a new monument was opened in its center - a bronze equestrian monument to Tamerlane.
In November 2009, the old elms and plane trees, many of which were more than 100 years old and which were a symbol of the square, were cut down by decision of the authorities and everything became bare again.
ODESSA, UKRAINE
Monument to Stalin in Odessa, Ukraine
IN post-war years in the city garden they created a giant model of the USSR on the lawn. And in the middle stood a monument to the leader. Odessa residents 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 - 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 20th Congress of the CPSU, at which the First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee N.S. Khrushchev sharply criticized I.V. Stalin, it was decided to dismantle the monument. In 1962 sculptural composition was blown up. After the first explosion, only the granite facing blocks crumbled, exposing reinforced concrete structure. In order to completely destroy the monument, a second and third explosion was required. The latter was held on the eve of the celebration of the 45th anniversary of the Great October Revolution socialist revolution, November 7, 1962. The operation to eliminate the sculpture cost 4.5 million crowns, while construction cost 140 million (according to some sources, 260 million crowns).
In 1991 in Prague, during the General Czechoslovak Exhibition, on the site of the monument to Stalin, it was decided to place a giant metronome on the old pedestal. The length of the rod was 20 meters. According to the original plan, the metronome was supposed to be dismantled at the end of the exhibition, but then the city authorities decided to leave the attraction.
The Club “For Old Prague” came up with an unusual idea: to add to the list historical monuments, state protected, base former monument Joseph Stalin. The club's proposal is due to the fact that the magistrate is mulling over the idea of opening an Oceanarium at 250 sea fish, under which, in particular, the granite platform of the monument will be used.
Monuments to Stalin. Part 1.
Stalin's personality today is extraordinary and ambiguous. A personality whose role in the history of the twentieth century is quite difficult to overestimate.
Some consider him a tyrant who destroyed many lives (mass repressions, the great terror of 1937, etc.). Some people associate Stalin's death with the end of terror and mass repressions and the release of millions of innocent people from prison.
Others consider him a hero, a great leader (he created a powerful state capable of competing on equal terms with the United States, made him a nuclear power, won the Great Patriotic War, etc.)
The first monument to J.V. Stalin was made by sculptor M.Ya. Kharlamov in 1929, on the eve of the celebration of Stalin’s 50th anniversary. Monuments to Stalin of significant size, as a rule, were installed in the center of the city, village, town on the main street, square, often bearing the name of Stalin himself, near administrative buildings.
In Moscow, a monument to the leader was even installed in the altar of an Orthodox church
In 1935, on Bolshaya Ordynka in the Intercession Cathedral of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent, the House of Sanitary Education was opened. They set up a stage in the altar, placing a statue of Stalin in the High Place.
Stalin was often depicted 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 20th Congress of the CPSU, Stalin began to be removed from the twin 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 (burial took place on October 31, 1961) and rename the city of Stalingrad to Volgograd, almost all of 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-Russian Agricultural Exhibition in Moscow
The monument was erected in 1939 for the opening of the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition (VSKhV) 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 plan for the reconstruction of the All-Russian Agricultural Exhibition.
After the opening of the exhibition, a fountain appeared on the site of the old monument.
A new monument was supposed to appear on Kolkhoz Square, but in 1953 its place was taken by the ground floor of the Stone Flower fountain.
Monument to Stalin in the Muzeon Art Park 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, the monument to V. I. Lenin was erected in Kyiv on Bessarabia Square, and the monument to I. V. Stalin was first in Moscow in Izmailovsky Park (then Stalin Park), during the time of the “cult of personality” it was removed, and then, By 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 Volga-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 Obukhov Defense Avenue and Srednyaya Rogatka
All of them were installed for the 70th anniversary of the leader, in 1949, and dismantled after the 20th 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, the monument was dismantled during one night. The further fate of the sculpture of the leader of the peoples is unknown. After that, for 12 years there was an empty pedestal on the embankment.
In 1969, a decision was made 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
Bust of Stalin at 7031 (now 6999) km of the Trans-Siberian Railway west of the village. Amazar, Trans-Baikal Territory
The bas-relief was built 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 outcropping ~6 m high, located at the top of the ridge at the bend of the railway. The materials used were stone, brick, iron reinforcement and concrete. The bust, ~3 m high, covered with lime, was clearly visible from the line of the iron road.
Approaching the location of the monument, train drivers sounded a warning whistle so that passengers could see the monument to the leader.
For Stalin’s 70th birthday (December 21, 1949), spotlights began to illuminate the bust at night. Excursion groups often visited here, and a ceremonial reception for pioneers took place.
On the day of Stalin's funeral, a rally of passengers from two oncoming trains took place.
In March 1956, it was announced that there was a threat of the rock mass containing the bust collapsing onto the railway, and on September 20, 1956, the bust was blown up.
YEREVAN, ARMENIA
Monument to Stalin in Yerevan, Armenia
The monument was erected in 1950
In 1967, the monument was dismantled, Stalin was removed from the pedestal, and Mother Armenia was erected
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 paste is 32 meters
At the base of the monument there is a museum of the Ministry of Defense, which displays exhibits from the Great Patriotic and Karabakh wars: personal belongings, weapons, documents and portraits of heroes. Around the pedestal are displayed samples of weapons of that time.
MINSK, BELARUS
Monument to Stalin on Central (Oktyabrskaya) Square in Minsk, Belarus
The pedestal of the monument to Stalin on the Central Square in Minsk was surrounded by Belarusian national ornaments.
It served as a reminder that Soviet Belarus owes its creation to a decisive extent to Comrade Stalin, People's Commissar for Nationalities.
On November 3, 1961, the monument was literally “razed to the ground.” In the evening, the square was cordoned off along the entire perimeter, and about two hundred onlookers watched what was happening from the park in front of the House of Officers, a residential building on the street. Engels and nearby courtyards. The monument was hooked to the torso with a hand-thick steel cable and two tank tractors got to work. On the first attempt, although the engines roared at full speed, the monument did not even sway - the tank tracks helplessly scratched the paving stones with which the square was paved. The second and third attempts also did not bring success. After some time, the monument to the leader was eventually shaken and toppled, and the pedestal was blown up and taken out in pieces. The resulting pit was concreted. By morning, it was even difficult to find the place where the monument stood on the square, and on November 7, a military parade and 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 on Stalin's seventieth 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 Hungarian Uprising of 1956.
On October 23, 1956, a crowd of rebel 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 torn from the pedestal.
After the events of 1956, the empty pedestal was reconstructed and for a long time was used as a government platform for festive processions and demonstrations.
In the early 1990s, the remains of the pedestal-tribune were finally dismantled.
In 2006, in the socialist era sculpture park in Budapest (Memento Park), the brick pedestal and the lower part of the sculpture - Stalin's boots - were reproduced in a reduced form.
Stalin's chopped off boots became one of the unique 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-tier 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 monument to Stalin was dismantled for subsequent relocation. In its place a monument dedicated to those killed during the August 2008 war will be erected.
The dismantling of the statue was organized at night to avoid protests from the local population, some of whom are categorically against moving the monument. At the same time, the surrounding area was cordoned off, and journalists were not allowed to film.
ULAN BATOR, MONGOLIA
Monument to Stalin in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
The monument was erected in 1949.
After the 20th Congress of the CPSU, despite the personal request of Nikita Khrushchev, the Mongolian government refused to dismantle the monument. The monument stood opposite the Mongolian National Library until 1990.
The dismantled statue was sprinkled with milk and milk vodka. This was done so that “the spirit of Stalin, thus appeased, would never return.” The sculpture was sent for storage to the library's utility rooms, where it was kept in a specially made wooden box. The monument's pedestal was also dismantled.
In 2001, a four-meter statue of Stalin was purchased by an entrepreneur and installed in the summer cafe "Ismus".
In June 2005, in its place, a monument to Stalin was inaugurated with a monument to the Mongolian scientist B. Rinchin.
TASHKENT, UZBEKISTAN
Monument to Stalin in Revolution Square in Tashkent, Uzbekistan
(Mourning meeting in March 1953)
The monument was opened in the late 40s for the anniversary of Stalin
In 1962, the monument was dismantled, and the pedestal was used for the monument “Peace, Labor, Freedom...” This monument was popularly nicknamed the “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 the independence of Uzbekistan, the square was renamed “Amir Temur Square”, and a new monument was opened in its center - a bronze equestrian monument to Tamerlane.
In November 2009, the old elms and plane trees, many of which were more than 100 years old and which were a symbol of the square, were cut down by decision of the authorities and everything became bare again.
ODESSA, UKRAINE
Monument to Stalin in Odessa, Ukraine
In the post-war years, a giant model of the USSR was created on the lawn in the city garden. And in the middle stood a monument to the leader. Odessa residents 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 - 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 20th Congress of the CPSU, at which the First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee N.S. 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 the granite facing blocks crumbled, exposing the reinforced concrete structure. In order to completely destroy the monument, a second and third explosion was required. The latter was held on the eve of the celebration of the 45th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution, on November 7, 1962. The operation to eliminate the sculpture cost 4.5 million crowns, while construction cost 140 million (according to some sources, 260 million crowns).
In 1991 in Prague, during the General Czechoslovak Exhibition, on the site of the monument to Stalin, it was decided to place a giant metronome on the old pedestal. The length of the rod was 20 meters. According to the original plan, the metronome was supposed to be dismantled at the end of the exhibition, 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 club's proposal is due to the fact that the magistrate is considering the idea of opening an Oceanarium in Letna for 250 sea fish, for which, in particular, the granite site of the monument will be used.
The installation of a bust of Stalin in Surgut caused a great public outcry. Some argue that the appearance of the bust is completely justified, while others believe that it is “a mockery of the repressed.” It's interesting that in lately The image of the Soviet leader is becoming more and more popular. Museums, busts and monuments were opened in his honor in many cities. Details are in the material "Aif-Yugra".
Stalin is outlawed
Monument to Joseph Stalin on the Ob embankment in Surgut in early September. According to the city authorities, the bust was installed illegally, and activists will have to demolish the monument at their own expense.
“Law enforcement agencies are already drawing up a corresponding act. The decision to install the bust was officially transferred to the public council. The installation of the bust on municipal territory was not approved by the authorities. And if security forces recognize the installation of the bust as illegal, activists will have to dismantle the monument at their own expense,” she said in an interview with an Aif-Yugra correspondent Head of the Information Policy Department of the Surgut Administration Ekaterina Shvidkaya.
Despite the controversial figure of Joseph Stalin, many people were very offended by the fact that the bust was installed not far from the place where the monument to the repressed should be located.
“The Ob embankment is the most successful place from where people went to the front and where the evacuated fish canning plant, which worked for the front, was located,” said Aif-Yugra. supervisor public organization“Russian Spirit” Denis Khanzhin. “The fact that there was a sign there for victims of repression we saw during the opening of the bust was a surprise and a coincidence for us. We submitted an application to the city toponymy commission, but they did not respond to us within the required 3-month period and illegally transferred their powers Public Council, which wasn't even created. We realized that the issue could drag on for years, officials are trying to close themselves off from the topic of Stalin, so we had to act decisively, in the opposite direction. Let them now prove that we erected the bust without asking.”
Popularity is growing
The fashion for erecting monuments to Stalin began in 2005. It was from that moment that the leader’s face began to adorn cities throughout the country. For example, in North Ossetia there are up to 24 monuments.
So, in 2005, a bust of Stalin was erected in Beslan.
On the 126th anniversary of the leader, a “Bust of the Father of Nations” also appeared on a five-meter pedestal in the city of Digor. In 2006, a bust of Stalin was also installed in Vladimir, and in May 2011, a similar sculpture adorned the village of Sadovoye Voronezh region, and by Victory Day. Over the past five years, monuments to Stalin have appeared in the Pskov region, Yakutsk, and the Mari El Republic. In the latter, the monument is made on a grand scale, the leader is depicted in full height, the height of the work together with the pedestal is about 5 meters.
In addition, in December 2015, an entire “Stalin Center” museum dedicated to Joseph Vissarionovich was opened in Penza. However, not all cities agree with the installation of monuments to the Soviet leader. Thus, this spring in Arkhangelsk, the toponymy commission voted against the installation of a monument to Stalin.
“I don’t think this is a revival of Stalin’s personality cult. It’s just that at one time it was very profitable to throw mud at the figure of the Generalissimo, like the figure of Lenin, for example. But now, people are more advanced, it’s no problem for anyone to find out the whole story in person,” the candidate shared her opinion with Aif-Yugra historical sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of History, Philosophy and Law of Ugra State University Natalya Kharina. - And besides, due to the process of de-Stalinization, the figure of Stalin is now mainly associated with repression and atrocity, but we must also remember that it was under Stalin that the war was won. It is impossible to say unequivocally that the figure of Joseph Vissarionovich is negative or positive; I have a fairly neutral attitude towards him. You cannot place a historical figure of this kind only on one side of the barricades; you need to remember both negative and positive aspects and draw conclusions from them. After all, that’s what history is for, to learn from the past.”
The appearance of a bust of Stalin in Surgut was received ambiguously. So, over the past week, the monument was painted twice in red, and the inscription “executioner” appeared on the side. But the activists do not stop there; now they have a bust of Lavrentiy Beria next to the scandalous monument to Stalin.
“We are currently conducting a survey. public opinion. We definitely won’t stage anything this year. We are making plans for the future, analyzing the mistakes in installing the bust of Stalin. For us it's new topic, so not everything went smoothly. Our main task is to fight oblivion, rewriting and denigration of our history, our heroes,” Denis Khanzhin told Aif-Yugra.
Activists plan to raise money for a new monument in the same way as for a bust of Stalin via the Internet. So, with the help of crowdfunding, about 240 thousand rubles were raised for the monument to Stalin.
MOSCOW, September 21 - RIA Novosti, Victoria Salnikova. Recently, busts of Stalin appeared in several Russian cities. RIA Novosti found out who is putting them on and why.
To the victims of repression
Social activists in Surgut unauthorizedly erected a bust of StalinThey said they were ready for trial if the monument was found to be installed illegally. The bust was installed on the Ob embankment; about 50 people, including veterans, took part in the installation.Surgut. Embankment of the Ob River. 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 deposited on my grave, but the winds of history will scatter it.” The monument has only been standing for a few days, but it has already split the city of 350,000 people into two camps. Some demand its immediate demolition, 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 permission from the city administration.
Despite the illegal status of the monument, carnations are carried to it. They are the same color as the paint with which ill-wishers have smeared the bust for the second time - red. A symbolism that is hard to ignore. 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. A discreet sign announces this. The location was not chosen by chance: here stood 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 chose the right place for it. From here, during the years of the Great Patriotic War Residents of Surgut went to the front. To my question about the monument to the victims of political repression, he replies that he did not know about the plans.
“It is located more than a hundred meters away. This sign has been standing for many years, we didn’t even notice it. They still can’t collect six million. Although in 2012 they were allocated budget million. We generally doubt that this monument will ever appear,” he said.
The monument to the victims of repression was not erected for a banal reason - there was no money. As the head told social movement“Our Memory” Pavel Akimov, a descendant of repressed peasants, they actually received a grant, but this amount is not enough. “We believed that the city administration should erect a monument, but they cited a lack of funds. We have to do it on our own, and we are all pensioners. Anyone who can help will help. It is unlikely that we will collect much, but by next year we will erect it - by 80- anniversary of terror," he said.
Denis believes that the problem around the monument to the repressed is being “inflated” by the liberal-minded public. According to him, there are “many of them” in Surgut. "The repressed were convicted under articles. Naturally, there were also innocent victims. We sympathize with these people. There should be a monument, but there is no need to inflate it! 40 million ( According to the human rights organization Memorial, between 11 and 39 million people became victims of repression during the Soviet period, editor’s note.)! Who would work in the country if 40 million were imprisoned or 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 an object of cultural heritage of Russia.Denis added that Joseph Stalin himself became a victim of political repression - during the Khrushchev era. But Pyotr Akimov is unlikely to agree with him, as are the descendants of the repressed who still live in Surgut - about a thousand people. The local university also spoke out against the installation of a bust of Stalin, so the debate is being waged at all levels. In response to my remark that the monument to the Secretary General electrified the atmosphere in the city, Denis replied that the people have long been divided “into the descendants of the winners and losers of the Great Patriotic War.” "The losers are the people who believe that we lived under the occupation of the Soviet Union, that enemy power seized Russian Empire, these are the same Vlasovites and Banderaites who, when the Nazis came, immediately took their side. A lot of them were sent to Siberia. 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 platform: they want to recognize him cultural heritage. Pyotr Akimov is no less categorical: the bust should not stand in Surgut.
“When I found out about the installation, I immediately called the administration, they told me that it was illegal. There had to be a decision by the public council under the head of the city, the meeting would take place on September 30. There was a toponymy commission, but it did not determine the location. The installation was on municipal land rejected. And then they installed it opposite our monument on municipal land without any approval from the city administration. Ultimately, it will be demolished,” Akimov said.
From Novosibirsk to Kazan
Surgut - no the only city, where the 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 the near future in Kazan and Novosibirsk. 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 Ravil Garifullin, a member of the initiative group, told RIA Novosti, they are now “overcoming the bureaucratic mechanism.” They haven’t announced a fundraiser yet; they want to get the necessary documents sorted out first.
“In our opinion, the contribution of Generalissimo Joseph Stalin to the victory over Nazi Germany is undeservedly underestimated. There were almost no citizens who clearly expressed their indignation against the installation of the monument. A couple of people said that they were repressed. But repressed people by law receive a 50 percent discount for everything - both for education and for medicine. We must not forget that in that era, citizens were convicted by the court, it was not the lynching of Stalin alone. We are speaking in fact - the war was won, for the record, Stalin is still a Hero of the Soviet Union. Union," he said.
In Novosibirsk, a bust of Stalin can be placed in the Heroes of the Revolution park, which is located in the city center. This is a memorial monument on the territory of which there are mass graves victims Civil War. The initiators came from the All-Union Bolshevik Communist Party. According to activist Alexey Denisyuk, fundraising is open, and they will soon order a bust from a sculptor in North Ossetia.
“We have been promoting 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, it 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 the shortest possible time was able to create an industry, prepare the country for defense and defeat Hitler's Germany", he said.
The decision to place the bust will be made on September 22 during a meeting artistic council cities.
Dmitry Kholyavchenko, a member of the rectorate of the Novosibirsk Open University, opposes the installation of a bust of Stalin. He created a petition on the Internet platform, which at the moment 760 people out of a thousand required signed.
"We count on the sound position of the artistic council. They must take into account the wishes of not only small group population that wants to dump associations with some, in our opinion, unpleasant events into the public space Russian history", he said.
If a positive decision is made, Dmitry promises to initiate rallies and pickets. In his opinion, there should not be a monument to Stalin in Novosibirsk, where the descendants of the repressed live.
“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 in which there is 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, attitudes towards Stalin in Russia have changed several 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 a stage of denial of the Soviet past in the 1990s, has now entered a phase of re-Stalinization.
"Russian government from the point of view of positioning and consolidation of the population, it repeats the political technology techniques of the Brezhnev period. Under him, the Soviet government built the consolidation of the population around the core of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. The first Victory Parade took place in 1945, after this event it did not take place for 20 years - until 1965, the first year of Brezhnev's rule. The Russian government is copying these practices, and this requires the cult of Stalin’s personality, but not, of course, on the scale on which it was under Stalin himself,” said Pavel Salin, director of the Center for Political Research at the Financial University.
Salin noted that the perception of the figure of Stalin is also influenced by mass mythology. People quickly forget the bad and remember only the good - this is a feature of the psyche. “The majority of the population did not live in that era and their impression of it is based on the works that form mass mythology - books, films, etc. How this mythology influenced the perception of the Stalin era by the population in the 1980-1990s with a minus sign, so now it influences with a “plus” sign. We see that the figure of Stalin in works of mass culture is covered either neutrally or moderately positively,” he added.
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 adding additions to this list. I remind you that it's coming 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 (school-gymnasium 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.
Village of Vyritsa, Leningrad region (to my shame, having a dacha nearby, I have never come across this monument - shame on me)
Bas-relief to Stalin on Communa 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 Gruto Park (Lithuania)
Ukraine, Zaporozhye region, Mikhailovsky district, village Plodorodnoye
An excerpt from a newspaper article on this matter:
In the Mikhailovsky district there is the only monument to Stalin in Ukraine
And no one is encroaching on the figure of the Soviet leader. The initiator of the installation of the monument on the main street of the village of Plodorodnoye is private entrepreneur Leonid Vereshchaga.
In order to assemble the monument, three years ago we had to look for the missing parts of the figure even in a landfill. The figure of Stalin is just one of the unique “exhibits” of the history alley; there are also monuments to Lenin, Zhdanov, Sverdlov, as well as a wartime lorry and a MiG aircraft. By the way, this unique “museum” began with him, which this year celebrates its fifth anniversary. According to L. Vereshchagi, “monuments do not have artistic value, but they are symbols of their era. And to understand the future, we 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
Restored monument in Kutaisi, Georgia
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 village residents opposed it. The protest of the villagers ended with the monument remaining standing in the courtyard of the village council. Later, the land on which the monument is located was purchased local resident. A house was built nearby, and the monument was left in the yard.”
North Ossetia. Tseyskoye Gorge. Portrait on a stone.
Kurtatinsky Gorge, North Ossetia, Alania, village. 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 landfills, after which the landfill 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 grew. Due to repeated cases of vandalism, at the end of 2002 the monument was moved to the area museum complex in the city center.
Shkoder city, Albania.
Water tower in the city of Novgorod-Seversky, Chernigov region of Ukraine
Gurjaani. Bust of Stalin with a girl.