Stalin’s profile is becoming more and more distinct – Kommersant Saratov

During the overhaul of the historic building of the former party school in the center of Volgograd, which has been occupied by the State Medical University for more than 60 years, the “outline” of Joseph Stalin will be drawn on the facade – in the place where there once was a bas-relief of this historical figure, and the name of Stalin will be restored on the capitals of the columns. In February, near the main museum complex of the city, the first bust of Stalin created on the initiative of state structures was opened in the Russian Federation. According to experts, the restoration of the facade of the former party school may be part of the campaign to rename the city to Stalingrad.

During the overhaul of the facade of the Volgograd State Medical University (VolGMU), the bas-relief with the profile of the leader of the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin, which was removed from this building in 1961, will be partially restored. As Dmitry Trofimov clarified to Kommersant, the assistant rector of the university will not restore a full-fledged bas-relief, but only its “outline”, and a memorial plaque indicating that there was such a bas-relief before. In addition, the inscription “Stalin” will be drawn again on the opened “book” of the capitals of the columns – now only the inscription “Lenin” remains there.

Initially, the facade of the building of the higher party school, designed in 1950 and put into operation in 1954, was decorated with four bas-reliefs – Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin. However, the latter was dismantled at the end of 1961, when the building was already occupied by the university. By the way, this was done just a few days after Stalingrad was renamed Volgograd by decree of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

In the competition, which ended in August last year, “Garantstroy” was the only participant who submitted an application that meets the conditions established by VolGMU. The contractor will install doors, replace plastic windows with wooden ones, recreate granite slopes, repair the roof, and carry out a number of other works.

Contract for 235.4 million rubles. performs the capital LLC “Garantstroy”, in the track record of which there are several orders from the structures of “Roskosmos”. According to Kartoteka. ru, in 2022 the company received revenue of 262 million rubles. and a net profit of 14 million. At the competition, which ended in August last year, Garantstroy was the only participant who submitted an application that meets the conditions established by the VolGMU.

According to Dmitry Trofimov, the reconstruction project was created back in 2019, and upon approval by the state expert examination, this option was chosen – with the contour of the former bas-relief. “The decision was made by the state commission, and it is exactly like this,” Mr. Trofimov specified, noting that the proposal was made by the famous Volgograd architect Sergei Sena.

According to Kommersant’s information, the reason is prosaic: not a single sufficiently high-quality photograph of the lost bas-relief or its scientific description has been preserved.

Valery Kotelnikov, head of the Volgograd branch of the All-Russian Society for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments of the All-Russian Society for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments, Valery Kotelnikov, confirmed that a year ago the project was discussed at the scientific and methodological council at the Committee for State Protection of the OKN of the regional administration, adding, “although we are not allowed to go there.” Mr. Kotelnikov notes that the reconstruction of a part of the architectural appearance is the right approach. “There was such a time. At the same time, it seems to me, they should simultaneously tell why Stalin was here. But the approach is correct, in contrast to newly erected objects, like the one near the panorama, ”the social activist noted.

We are talking about the bust of Stalin, which was solemnly opened in Volgograd on February 1, on the eve of the 80th anniversary of the celebration of the victory in the Battle of Stalingrad.

Deputy of the Volgograd Regional Duma from the Communist Party, Doctor of Historical Sciences Alexei Burov is sure that both the opening of the bust and the restoration of a hint of a bas-relief on the walls of the medical university is a “process of restoring historical justice.”

On the sidelines of the regional authorities, a version is circulating that a referendum on this issue may be held simultaneously with the election of the governor in September in order to coincide with the renaming of the city to coincide with the anniversary of the start of the counteroffensive in the Stalingrad operation. Such an assumption as “very likely” was confirmed on condition of anonymity by several officials and deputies of the regional level.

Alexander Yefimov, a member of the federal bureau of the Yabloko party, does not exclude such a possibility: “It is not about returning the historical name, but about raising the flag of the militarization of the country, a symbol of everything that is happening. They want to return not a historical figure, but a guiding symbol, we seem to be again going to a state where every person is a cog, his life is not important, but there is only a leader that leads from victory to victory, ”says Mr. Yefimov.

“That’s why you can’t say that even a bas-relief is just a restoration of history. We are still infected with the disease that Stalin instilled in society, the legacy of his repressive machine has not been outlived. Therefore, we can’t calmly look at the bas-relief yet, ”the politician summed up.

Valery Kotelnikov also believes that returning the name would be a big mistake. “Stalingrad has long begun to live separately. This is not a city, but a symbol of courage, victory, a turning point in the entire Second World War. And if we return the name to just the city, then this will be the leveling of our history, its desacralization. What will it be like to see headlines about another sewer break in Stalingrad?” says Mr. Kotelnikov.

Yaroslav Malykh