Russian Communist Party seeks to rehabilitate Joseph Stalin’s image

(MENAFN) The Russian Communist Party (CPRF) has formally announced its intention to rehabilitate the image of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, passing a resolution at its recent convention that calls for what it describes as “historical justice.”

According to the resolution, the party dismisses the criticism leveled against Stalin by his successor, Nikita Khrushchev, calling it “misdirected” and “politically motivated.” The CPRF explicitly distances itself from Khrushchev’s infamous denunciation of Stalin’s “personality cult.”

In 1956, during a landmark Communist Party congress, Khrushchev condemned Stalin’s crimes and the repressive policies of the 1930s known as the Great Terror. Ironically, Khrushchev had played a role in those events himself. His de-Stalinization campaign involved the dismantling of Stalin-era memorials and efforts to reduce his symbolic presence throughout the Soviet Union.

Today, Stalin’s legacy remains deeply polarizing in Russia. Some citizens view him as a national hero who led the Soviet Union to victory in World War II, while others see him as a brutal dictator responsible for mass executions, imprisonments, and widespread repression.

Nonetheless, the CPRF has increasingly embraced a more favorable view of Stalin. In 2021, party officials in the Nizhny Novgorod Region announced plans to establish a museum in his honor. “Stalin is a symbol of victory, the commonwealth of fraternal nations, the power and greatness of the Power that ensured peace in the world and kept it from World War III,” said Vladislav Yegorov, the head of the local party branch.

Yegorov stated that the museum could serve as a prototype for similar institutions across Russia. In recent years, the CPRF has also supported the construction of monuments to Stalin in various parts of the country.

At the same convention, the party passed another resolution urging President Vladimir Putin to restore the name "Stalingrad" to the city now known as Volgograd. CPRF leader Gennady Zyuganov, a long-time advocate for the change, reiterated his demand ahead of the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany this past May.

The resolution also called for the Volgograd Region to be renamed in accordance with what the party described as its “historical” identity. So far, the Kremlin has not issued any response to these proposals.

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