Ay! Nyet to Volgograd…bring back Stalingrad !

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Who says Russia is not returning to its old ways?

Here is proof of its nostalgia for the good old days of the Soviet Union: the city name  “Stalingrad” is about to be resurrected.

The proof is on the symbolic level, perhaps the best indication of the breadth and depth of this nostalgia, and of all that it represents.

The leftists at the Guardian — a long-time outlet of the Ministry of Truth — tell their readers that this proposed name change is about The Great Patriotic War, not about Stalin.  But who are they kidding?

So it is that Vladimir Putin flexes his muscles and his Greater Putinia reclaims the ground lost by the limp-wristed Gorbachev.

Next logical proposal: No more St. Petersburg, let’s call it Leningrad.   And.. while we’re at it, let’s reclaim those pesky neighboring Baltic provinces of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.   And let’s make sure Kuba doesn’t slip away.  Let’s work on the names: Kubanistan…yes, that would be a lovely name for the country, and Kastrograd for the capital city!

Never underestimate the power of the symbolic dimension.   The Ministry of  Truth never does, because they know it is their most powerful instrument.

From The Guardian (UK)

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Stalingrad name may return to city in wave of second world war patriotism

For more than 300 years, the Russian city of Volgograd was known as Tsaritsyn. It was dubbed Stalingrad in honour of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin for a mere 26 years, but then his successor Nikita Khrushchev dropped that name as part of his campaign to dismantle the personality cult of the former dictator.

Now the city may become Stalingrad once again after president Vladimir Putin proposed holding a referendum to change the name amid a wave of second world war patriotism over eastern Ukraine. When asked by a Soviet veteran during D-day commemorations in Normandy on Friday, Putin promised to help the city’s residents vote on bringing back the Stalingrad name. “It wasn’t me who canceled that,” Putin told the veterans….

…Several other prominent politicians, including deputy PM Dmitry Rogozin and Communist party leader and MP Gennady Zyuganov, were quick to put their weight behind the possible name change. But Putin’s support is what is likely to move the initiative forward in Volgograd, which is one of Russia’s largest cities with more than 1 million people.

Whole story HERE.

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