Moscow Plans First Stalin Monument Since 1960s

[Kire]

Moscow Plans First Stalin Monument Since 1960s
Wed Jan 19,11:49 AM ET


MOSCOW (Reuters) - Moscow plans to erect a new statue of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, returning his once-ubiquitous image to its streets after an absence of four decades, a top city official said Wednesday.

Since President Vladimir Putin (news - web sites) was elected in 2000, a number of Soviet symbols -- including the national anthem and an army flag -- have been restored to use, reflecting widespread nostalgia for Russia's communist years.

But rehabilitation of Stalin, who was denounced after his death in 1953 by the Soviet leadership for encouraging a cult of personality and killing millions of real and imagined opponents, has previously been out of bounds. Statues of Stalin were removed from Moscow's public spaces in the 1960s.

"A monument will be erected to those who took part in (leading the war against Adolf Hitler), including Stalin," Oleg Tolkachev, Moscow's senator in the upper house of parliament, told Ekho Moskvy radio.

More: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=574&e=14&u=/nm/russia_stalin_dc

[Zuni]

1. My grandparents grew up under Stalin

many of their families and friends died during the purges and famines.

I find this to be utterly and totally disgusting. It is the equivalent of a monument to Heinrich Himmler being put up in Tel Aviv.