In Volgograd, idea to erect a monument to Stalin provokes disputes on Facebook

In Volgograd, members of the Communist Party announced the erection on December 21 of a monument to Joseph Stalin. Many Facebook users criticized the idea, but some of them expressed their support to the idea.

On his Facebook page, Dmitry Lyubitenko, a member of the "Yabloko" Party branch in Volgograd, called the idea to install a monument to Stalin in Volgograd "an extremely short-sighted move, an act offending the memory of millions of our compatriots who suffered from the Stalin's repressions."

"If the Communists associate him (Stalin) with the victory in World War II, then they should think at what cost the victory came. Stalin was a deeply spiritually ill person and tyrant," wrote Facebook user Galina Chernova.

"He took thousands of people's lives with a single move of his pen," wrote Roman Ryabov.

"Near the panorama museum 'Battle of Stalingrad', there is a monument dedicated to the memory of the people who fell victim to the repressions [...] It is absurd to erect a monument to the person who led one of the bloodiest periods in the history of our country," Serg Ostrovsky believes.

Mikhail Poslamovsky expresses a different opinion. Although he characterizes Joseph Stalin as a "controversial figure," the Facebook user also notes that "he undoubtedly deserves a monument in our city."

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on December 19, 2019 at 04:32 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.