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Authorities in northwestern Russia’s Vologda region unveiled a statue of Joseph Stalin over the weekend, the latest monument to the Soviet dictator to have sprung up in the country in recent years.
At an unveiling ceremony, Vologda region Governor Georgiy Filimonov described the Stalin monument as “a step toward a sober, balanced view” of Russia’s past. Just hours before, Filimonov laid flowers at a local memorial dedicated to victims of political repression.
“It’s difficult to overestimate Joseph Stalin’s role in shaping our country’s history,” the governor said. “Of course, there were tragic lows [during his rule], but there were also highs.”
Filimonov added that Stalin’s memory should be “cherished” and “passed on to future generations” to keep Russia “powerful.”
The monument, created by sculptor Konstantin Kubyshkin, was installed near the Vologda Exile House Museum in the regional capital, where Stalin lived between December 1911 and February 1912.
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Earlier this year, Filimonov, whose office features multiple portraits of Communist leaders, also pledged to unveil a monument to Tsar Ivan the Terrible.
Stalin’s image has seen a gradual restoration in Russia in recent years despite the widespread atrocities committed during his rule. Nearly 100 Stalin monuments have been erected since President Vladimir Putin took office in 2000, with the largest concentrations found in the republics of North Ossetia, Dagestan and republic Sakha (Yakutia).
On Saturday, a Stalin bust was also unveiled in the North Ossetian village of Nart, while a gold-painted bust was installed in the Far East port city of Nakhodka last month.
Not all memorials have been received positively. Earlier this year, a Stalin monument in the Moscow-region city of Zvenigorod was beheaded with a sledgehammer by a local man.
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