Russian Governor Shows off New Stalin Statue to 'Honor' History

The death mask of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin is exhibited at a museum in his hometown of Gori, Georgia March 1, 2023. REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze/File Photo
The death mask of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin is exhibited at a museum in his hometown of Gori, Georgia March 1, 2023. REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze/File Photo
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Russian Governor Shows off New Stalin Statue to 'Honor' History

The death mask of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin is exhibited at a museum in his hometown of Gori, Georgia March 1, 2023. REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze/File Photo
The death mask of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin is exhibited at a museum in his hometown of Gori, Georgia March 1, 2023. REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze/File Photo

A new monument to Soviet-era leader Josef Stalin is set to be erected soon in a city in northwest Russia following what the regional governor there said were "appeals from the public".

Vologda Governor Georgy Filimonov published video on Friday showing workers putting the finishing touches to a life-sized statue of the Georgian-born ruler, who ruled the Soviet Union with an iron fist from 1924 until he died in 1953, Reuters reported.

Filimonov, who was appointed to his post last year by President Vladimir Putin, said the statue will be erected in the historic city of Vologda, which has a population of around 300,000 and lies roughly 275 miles (450 km) north of Moscow.

"This decision was triggered by appeals from the public to us," Filimonov wrote on his Telegram channel.

He said the statue would stand near a house where Stalin lived from 1911 to 1912 when exiled in the province for revolutionary activity.

Stalin oversaw rapid industrialisation and victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two but was also responsible for the deaths of millions in political purges, labour camps and famine, according to historians.

In his post, Filimonov seemed to anticipate push-back to the new statue.

"With all due understanding of the ambiguous interpretation of the role of (this) personality, we must recognize the great achievements, know the history of our country, (and) honor and be proud of it," he wrote.

Videos previously published by Filimonov demonstrate an affinity for Soviet leaders and photographs of secret police chiefs Lavrentiy Beria and Felix Dzerzhinsky hang on the walls of his office. He has dubbed a painting of himself shaking hands with Stalin, which hangs in his reception room, as "conceptual."

Filimonov also said on Friday that there were plans to install a monument to Ivan IV, a 16th-century Russian tsar under whom construction of Vologda's Kremlin began.

Popularly known as Ivan the Terrible, his reign was marked by violent purges of the Russian nobility and failed wars against Sweden and Poland.



Giant Sinkhole Unearths Forgotten Cave Mystery

Giant sinkhole swallows up part of a road in Surrey - EPA
Giant sinkhole swallows up part of a road in Surrey - EPA
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Giant Sinkhole Unearths Forgotten Cave Mystery

Giant sinkhole swallows up part of a road in Surrey - EPA
Giant sinkhole swallows up part of a road in Surrey - EPA

When a giant sinkhole swallowed up part of a road in Surrey it caused homes to be evacuated and left some residents "terrified".

But the hole in Godstone has also led many to question whether stories of a mysterious labyrinth of disused caves and quarries beneath the surface are to blame, BBC reported.

Peter Burgess, of the Wealden Cave and Mining Society, is an expert on the underground caves and crevices in and around Godstone.

He has been advising Surrey County Council on the risks posed by these long-forgotten caverns.

"The problem with the caves is they were all dug well before the days when such things had to be properly recorded," Burgess said.

"So once they were closed and abandoned, memories went and people forgot where they were – and that's why they cause a problem today.

"Because when they manifest themselves, people know they're around, but they don't know where they're going to pop up next."

"The caves in Godstone were dug for a very high-quality sand, it's called silver sand. It was dug for a variety of purposes – glassmaking, a lot of it went into horticulture and gardening, especially in the Victorian times," he said.

"Most of the underground workings closed by about 1900, and then the industry moved on to open casting, big open pits, which we can still see today."

On if caves could have caused the sinkhole, he said: "It's possible."

"We're not experts in what causes such things. That's down to the geologists and ground engineers.

"We're seen as a source of information on locations and where places might be should there be any other locations at risk. Sadly, in the village here, there's very little on record.

"Most of the sites are either unsurveyed or lost or collapsed or filled in."