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Volgograd may be renamed Stalingrad

Valentina Matviyenko, Speaker of the Federation Council of Russia, proposed a referendum in Volgograd to decide whether it should be renamed Stalingrad. She emphasized that there were both people sharing the idea and people against it. The speaker added that Paris has the Stalingrad Metro Station, Izvestia reports.

CEC Chief Vladimir Churov expressed readiness for the vote.

Leader of the United Russia at the parliament Vladimir Vasilyev approved the referendum.

Vice Premier Dmitry Rogozin said that his ancestors had suffered from Stalin’s repressions. He approved the idea of renaming the city to Stalingrad on holidays.

Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov reminded that 70 years ago the fate of the WWII had been decided at Stalingrad. He noted that 100,000 votes were collected to rename it.

LDPR leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky criticized Stalin noted that MPs had no right to rename it. He reminded that 20 million people had been killed before and after the war.

The 70th anniversary of the victory of the Red Army in the Stalingrad Battle was marked on February 2. Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the city to mark the anniversary. He spoke out against attempts to falsify history and urged people to remember the sacrifice made by people protecting it.

The Stalingrad Battle lasted 200 days, from July 17, 1942, to February 2, 1943. It was the largest ground operation during the Great Patriotic War and one of the greatest battles in world history. Both sides lost about 2 million people in the battle.

Adapted from: Vestnik Kavkaza