The recently unveiled “restoration” of a sculptural relief depicting Joseph Stalin at Moscow’s Taganskaya metro station. Photo: SOTAvision
A sculptural relief depicting Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin has been unveiled in a pedestrian passage of Moscow’s Taganskaya metro station. The development is officially part of efforts to mark the 90th anniversary of the Moscow Metro, according to a report by the independent outlet SOTAvision, citing the city’s Department of Transport.
According to the department, the composition was reconstructed based on archival photographs and documents. The original relief, titled “The People’s Gratitude to the Leader and Commander,” had been located in the Taganskaya passage until it was removed in 1966 during construction of an interchange to the Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya Line. The original piece has since been lost.
The existence of the art project was first announced on May 10, when officials promised the new relief would fully replicate the original. However, Alexander Zinoviev, a scholar of Soviet architecture who shared photos of the work Thursday morning, pointed out that the original material, color, and ornamental details were not preserved:
“What we ended up with is more of an ideological gesture than a restoration of historical architectural appearance,” he said.
The Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) welcomed the unveiling of the relief, calling it an act of “historical justice.” The party expressed hope that more Stalin monuments would appear across Moscow in the future.
The development exemplifies a broader trend across Russia, where cities are considering the restoration or construction of new monuments to the Soviet dictator. The wave of nostalgia coincides with the country’s recent celebrations of the 80th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. In the northwestern Vologda Region, governed by Georgy Filimonov — a vocal admirer of Stalin — two monuments have already been erected since late last year.