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Although statues of Stalin have appeared in areas outside the Russian capital under Putin's rule, this is the first time this has happened in Moscow. The explanation for this has to do with the state...
A monument to Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin erected in the Moscow metro has sown division, with some Russians welcoming it as a historic homage but others saying it is wrong to honor someone who caused so much suffering to his people.
The life-size mural sculpture at Moscow's Taganskaya metro station depicts Stalin standing in Moscow's Red Square surrounded by a crowd of admiring Soviet citizens and is a reproduction of a monument unveiled at the same station in 1950, three years before Stalin died.
The Moscow Metro said the original Stalin monument had been "lost" in 1966, when the Taganskaya metro station where it was located was reconstructed.
The Soviet dictator was responsible for the deaths of millions of innocent people, in purges, famines and his infamous gulag labor camps.
But this is not mentioned in the new sculpture. Instead, he is portrayed as a leader beloved by his people.
"It's brilliant," says Olga, adding "this is a story of art, culture, meaning, beauty."
For Denis, this is "the right decision." "This is the history of our state," he says.
This is one aspect, as there is anger over what appears to be Russia's latest attempt to reinstate the tyrant.
"What do they think?" asks Svetlana, who adds "how many people died under his leadership?"
And suddenly he appears here, thirsty for blood. How is this possible?!
"We should remember and honor some of his actions," Oleg says, adding, "but to humiliate him in that way is disrespectful. He did a lot of bad things for the Soviet people."
Although statues of Stalin had appeared in areas outside the Russian capital under Putin's rule, this is the first time this has happened in Moscow.
The explanation for this has to do with the state.
“This trend boils down to the idea of the greatness of the state,” says Jan Raczynski, a human rights activist who works to expose Stalin’s crimes at the Moscow branch of Memorial, a well-known human rights organization that now operates locally after the closure of its international branch.
"For the current government, the main thing is the state. The state is sacred, the state is above all, the state is infallible. That is why criticism of Stalin is constantly decreasing," he notes.
Raczynski further adds, "Russia's current leader has previously condemned Stalin's repressions. But he also said the country should not feel guilty about its past."
"Putin's old statement that we should be proud of history - there it is. Everything that prevents us from being proud of history fades away," Rachinsky emphasizes. /Adapted from the pamphlet by CNN/
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