A bas-relief of Joseph Stalin has been restored to its original place on the façade of the Volgograd State Medical University, 65 years after it was removed during the Khrushchev-era campaign of "de-Stalinization".
The building, originally constructed as the Higher Party School in Stalingrad, was designed by architects Vasily Simbirtsev and Yefim Levitan. Its main entrance originally featured four profiles — Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin. Stalin’s image was removed in November 1961, while those of Marx, Engels and Lenin remained.
The building, originally constructed as the Higher Party School in Stalingrad, was designed by architects Vasily Simbirtsev and Yefim Levitan. Its main entrance originally featured four profiles — Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin. Stalin’s image was removed in November 1961, while those of Marx, Engels and Lenin remained.
As part of a comprehensive restoration of the historic building, Stalin’s profile was returned to the façade on August 28. The reconstruction was carried out by sculptor-restorer Olga Okatova following extensive study of archival drawings, photographs and the three surviving reliefs.
The development is another indication of the renewed public recognition of Stalin’s historical role in contemporary Russia. It has also revived discussion about whether Volgograd — the city forever associated with the historic Soviet victory over Nazism at the Battle of Stalingrad — could one day officially regain the name Stalingrad.
Nonetheless, such developments should not create illusions about the political character of today’s Russian state. The bourgeois authorities of the Russian Federation remain fundamentally anti-communist, despite their selective invocation of Soviet history and symbols. Elements of the Soviet legacy — particularly the victory in the Great Patriotic War and increasingly the figure of Stalin himself — are appropriated according to the political and ideological needs of the contemporary capitalist state.
The development is another indication of the renewed public recognition of Stalin’s historical role in contemporary Russia. It has also revived discussion about whether Volgograd — the city forever associated with the historic Soviet victory over Nazism at the Battle of Stalingrad — could one day officially regain the name Stalingrad.
Nonetheless, such developments should not create illusions about the political character of today’s Russian state. The bourgeois authorities of the Russian Federation remain fundamentally anti-communist, despite their selective invocation of Soviet history and symbols. Elements of the Soviet legacy — particularly the victory in the Great Patriotic War and increasingly the figure of Stalin himself — are appropriated according to the political and ideological needs of the contemporary capitalist state.
Also Read:
Stalin Reloaded: New monument honoring Soviet industrial achievement unveiled in Cherepovets, Russia
