Once the name of this man - the almighty leader of the peoples I.V. Stalin - some people were awestruck, while others - fear, despair and hatred. The most amazing thing is that today the assessments of his life are contradictory. There is heated debate in society about whether this politician has earned a monument, because Stalin is a special person in Russian history. Therefore, the question of the monument remains open to him.
Let's try to consider this problem in more detail.
Monument Man: Stalin in the understanding of contemporaries
This man, in the understanding of his contemporaries, was a real monument made of the hardest materials. Legends circulated about his fortitude and cruelty to enemies. Stalin conquered people with his charm and conviction, but was touchy and often unpredictable.
During his lifetime, monuments were already erected to Stalin, although he was not a big supporter of such a glorification of his name. However, he was not an opponent of such actions of his environment, finding himself in this certain benefit.
The first sculptures of the leader
The first monument of this kind appeared in Soviet Russia in 1929 (sculptor Kharlamov). It was created specifically for the 50th anniversary of the leader. The first Stalin monument in Moscow inspired other artists and officials.
After the first immortalization of the Soviet leader, a real boom of such monuments began. Monument to Lenin and Stalin could be seen in most cities and towns of the USSR.
Such structures were erected at train stations, squares, near significant architectural objects (one of the monuments to Stalin stood near the entrance to the Tretyakov Gallery at the place where the monument to Tretyakov is now located). And this was far from the only monument to Stalin in Moscow. In the city since the 30s. installed about 50 sculptures of the leader.
There were so many similar structures throughout the USSR that they testified to a special attitude towards the “father of peoples”.
The most popular monuments
Among a large number of monuments, the country's authorities were forced to choose from them the most suitable from the point of view of official state ideology.
But what kind of monument should I choose? Stalin did not give any orders (either oral or written) about this, so his associates, at their own risk, chose a monument created by Ukrainian sculptors. He portrayed Lenin and Stalin sitting on a bench in solving important state problems. This monument was good because it showed the continuity of power: from the leader of the Lenin revolution to another "younger" leader Stalin.
This sculpture was immediately propagated and placed in the cities of the USSR.
A huge number of monuments were erected. Historians doubt the exact numbers, but suggest that there were several thousand (along with busts, etc.).
Mass destruction of monuments
After the death of Stalin, monuments in honor of him continued to be erected. Every year, new monuments appeared. The most popular were the images of Stalin the philosopher (the leader stood in a soldier’s overcoat and pressed his hand to his heart) and Stalin the generalissimo. In only one pioneer camp "Artek" - an all-Union children's health resort - four monuments to the great Stalin were erected.
However, after 1956, when Khrushchev launched the de-Stalinization process at the 20th Party Congress, the monuments began to be massively dismantled. This process was quick and ruthless. Destroyed even the monuments where Stalin was depicted next to Lenin. Often this was done at night, so as not to cause a grumbling of citizens. Sometimes the sculptures were simply buried in the ground or blown up.
