Press Release, 22.12.2022

Photo: Governor of the Volgograd Region Andrey Bocharov speaking in support of the “special operation” in front of students of the Volgograd branch of  Plekhanov Russian University of Econmics / Photo by www.rea.ru

Yabloko started collecting signatures in Volgograd against the renaming of the city after Joseph Stalin. The initiative on the change.org platform was launched by Alexander Yefimov, a member of the Federal Bureau of Yabloko. Yefimov’s petition against the return of the name of the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin to Volgograd gathered over 1.500 signatures in five days. At the end of the signature campaign, an appeal will be sent to the Governor of the region.

Over the past year, the calls of the heirs of the Bolshevik executioners to return the name of Stalin, a man who is personally responsible for monstrous crimes against his people, to the city of Volgograd have been increasingly insistent, the petition runs. Alexander Yefimov says that such proposals have been heard for many years, but the authorities did not pay attention to them until 2013. Then, at the suggestion of the pro-government United Russia party, the Volgograd City Duma adopted a resolution according to which the name “Hero City of Stalingrad” is established as a symbol of the city on certain dates and should be used along with the name “Hero City of Volgograd”.

This year, for the first time, road signs “Stalingrad” were installed at the entrances to the city. In addition, on 19 November, in response to another request for renaming, the Governor of the region Andrei Bocharov promised to create a public council that would study the opinion of the population about the final return of the “legendary heroic name” to the city.

“We all know too well the way the authorities “study” and adjust public opinion to their tasks, so we launched a petition against this renaming so that the residents of the region have the opportunity to demonstrate their attitude towards the personality of Joseph Stalin and his crimes. We are categorically against such a renaming. The revival of the personality cult of a bloody dictator is unacceptable,” Alexander Yefimov says.

The collection of signatures for the petition continues, the date of the meeting of the public council has not yet been set. Opponents of returning the name of the Soviet tyrant to the city note that the process of Stalinisation is going on throughout the country, but the role of the inhabitants of Volgograd in the Second World War brings the story of the return of Stalin’s personality cult in this city to the fore. Therefore, it is important that not only Volgograd residents, but also all citizens of Russia to express their opinion about this initiative.