Yekaterinburg council rejects proposal for Stalin bust

The city council of Yekaterinburg, the capital of Russia's Ural Mountains region, has refused a request to erect a bust of former Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. Local media reported that the city's chief architect determined there was no location where such a monument could be harmoniously integrated into the urban environment or the city's historical fabric.

The proposal was submitted by Sakartvelo, an organization representing the Georgian diaspora in the region. Sakartvelo views Stalin as a symbol of the country's "heroic past." As an alternative, city officials suggested placing the bust in a museum, a compromise that was reportedly not well-received by the organization.

Many Yekaterinburg residents opposed the installation, submitting a petition against the rehabilitation of Stalin and what they consider an insult to the memory of victims of his purges. Despite this local opposition, a recent Levada Center poll indicated that 59% of Russians hold a positive view of Stalin, a slight decrease from the previous year.

Since Vladimir Putin came to power, approximately a hundred monuments honoring Stalin have been erected across Russia, a trend that has accelerated since the annexation of Crimea in 2014. Putin himself has previously acknowledged Stalin's role in the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany while also referencing the repression under his rule. In May 2025, a large bas-relief featuring a statue of Stalin was reinstated at Moscow's Taganskaya metro station.