Moscow’s Taganskaya subway station, a showcase of Soviet-era grandeur, now features a monument to Josef Stalin. The installation, depicting Stalin surrounded by smiling workers and children bearing flowers, marks the 90th anniversary of the Moscow Metro. This move is seen by some as the latest effort by Russian authorities to revive the legacy of the Soviet dictator.

The current monument replaces a previous tribute removed after Stalin’s death in 1953, during a period of de-Stalinization aimed at dismantling his cult of personality and confronting decades of repression. This era was characterized by show trials,nighttime arrests,and the imprisonment or execution of millions labeled as enemies of the peopel.

Public reaction: A Mix of nostalgia and Remembrance of Repression

• Varied Responses: Muscovites have expressed diverse opinions on the monument’s unveiling. Some recall the pervasive fear during stalin’s rule, while others view him as a transformative leader.
• Commemoration: Many commuters have been observed taking photographs of the monument, and some have laid flowers at its base.
• Individual Perspectives: Aleksei Zavatsin,22,told The Associated Press that Stalin was a great man who had made a poor country into a superpower. He added, He raised the country from its knees.

Protests and Political Context

• Activist Opposition: Society.future, a Russian political movement, protested the monument by placing posters quoting politicians who condemned stalin.
• Putin’s Stance: One poster featured a quote from President Vladimir Putin, who bemoaned Stalin’s mass crimes against the people and stated that his modernization of the USSR came at the price of unacceptable repression.
• volgograd Renaming: The unveiling followed a decree by Mr. Putin to rename the airport in Volgograd as Stalingrad, the name the city held during the Soviet Red Army’s victory over Nazi forces in World War II.
• Symbolic Renaming: Volgograd briefly reverted to Stalingrad for Victory Day celebrations and will do so several more times this year to commemorate wartime anniversaries.

Kremlin’s Broader Strategy

The Kremlin’s embrace of Stalin’s legacy is seen by some as a means to justify both the conflict in ukraine and the crackdown on domestic dissent.

Stalin was a tyrant,a despot,and that’s what we need.

Russian political analyst Pyotr Miloserdov

Mr. Miloserdov added that authorities aim to revive Stalin’s image to popularize the idea of strongman rule and portray violence and repression as justified under extraordinary circumstances.

This can lead to justifying any senseless, forceful actions. Under Stalin, this was allowed, there was a war. … So, here is our special military operation, and now this is allowed too. This is simply an attempt to justify the use of force on people.

russian political analyst Pyotr Miloserdov