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Although he is responsible for mass executions, a network of labor camps or a great famine that claimed millions of lives, Josef Vissarionovich Stalin plays one of the main roles in war propaganda in today’s Russia.
Monuments commemorating the life and legacy of the Soviet dictator are being erected in locations across the country. The regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to strengthen current society with his help, wrote The Telegraph newspaper.
Stalin’s personality has long been highlighted by Putin and he uses it to defend some of his actions. Since the invasion of Ukraine, however, the spread of the dictator’s legacy has increased. In addition to erecting more statues and demolishing monuments to his victims, representatives of the communist parties in particular began building centers that represented Stalin as a “great man of history.”
Experts point to Putin’s efforts to drum up public support for the war in Ukraine, including by comparing the current conflict to World War II and the fight against Nazism, as the main goal of reviving the Stalin cult.
“They say they are now fighting the Nazis in Ukraine – The Great Patriotic War in the second edition. “So Stalin, as the man who defeated Nazism, creates a good image and an inspiration for the regime,” said Stephen Hall, associate professor of Russian politics at the University of Bath, told the Telegraph.
Upcoming presidential elections
The protracted war in Ukraine, the Wagner Group’s march to Moscow and Western sanctions are making life more difficult for Russians. In recent months, several events could have upset Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Nevertheless, the polls continue to give him strong approval among Russians, and with the presidential election approaching, it doesn’t look as if anything could upset the generally accepted scenario: namely, that this is the man who is leading a conquering and bloody war in Ukraine will be at the helm of Russia for the next six years.
Sociologist Ilya Kolmanovsky believes that Stalin’s deployment can work best when Russia is at war. “Society is not living its daily life but is in a state of mobilization. “The state keeps people in a state of mobilization under the threat of attack, which in turn justifies autocracy and the need for a strong hand,” he said in comments to RFE/RL.
In addition, statues of Stalin appear in places where it was previously difficult to imagine them – in Kazan on a bench near a school or in Pskov near a church, where the dictator’s image was even consecrated by a priest, although Stalin’s relationship to religion was very critical.
There are now more than 100 Stalin monuments across Russia, most of which were erected during President Putin’s 24-year rule, according to RFE/RL.
New school books and the demolition of memorials for the victims
Stalin reaches even the youngest children, with newly adopted textbooks portraying the dictator as a progressive politician. According to the independent server Meduza, the terror that reigned during his rule is not even mentioned.
The regime is also trying to erase critical memories of Stalin by tearing down monuments and memorial plaques to the victims of his rule.
“The campaign to remove the monuments is ongoing across the country. “In most cases, the perpetrators of vandalism are not caught and the police do nothing,” said Alexandra Polivanova, a researcher at the human rights group Memorial, which is banned in Russia.
What do children learn in Russia?
Teach about geopolitics, discuss current issues, sing the national anthem or raise the flag. According to the Russian government’s new plans, education for children from the first grade onwards should look like this. Experts agree that these are attempts by the regime to convey ideology and mobilize society even among the youngest.
According to the Meduza server, Stalin’s name may appear again on the map of Russia in the near future. The Kremlin is trying to rename Volgograd back to its former name – Stalingrad.
The data also shows Stalin’s increasing popularity in the Putin regime. In the early 1990s, the independent organization Levada Center began asking Russians to name “the greatest personality of all times and nations.” While the Soviet dictator received around 20 percent of the vote in 1994 and came fourth in the poll, he took over the top spot in 2012 and maintains it to this day.
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