MOSCOW: Stalingrad, a name that conjours memories both of the Soviet Union's World War Two sacrifice and the murderous rule of dictator Josef Stalin, is making a comeback.
A Russian regional governor has backed a proposal to name the local airport Stalingrad, angering some Russians who say the country should not honour Stalin, who oversaw millions of deaths.
It was not clear if the initiative had the support of the Kremlin, but it would fit in with a pattern under President Vladimir Putin for officials to tap into nostalgia for a period of Soviet rule when the country was a global superpower.
Andrei Bocharov, who runs the Volgograd Region in southern Russia, approved a proposal from war veterans to rename the local international airport Stalingrad, though he said "more work still has to be done on this issue", his official site said.
Stalingrad was the name given to Volgograd in 1925 in honour of Stalin. It was changed back to Volgograd in 1961, when Stalin's successor denounced him.
The city became a symbol of Soviet resistance during World War Two, when the battle of Stalingrad stopped the German advance into the Soviet Union and marked the turning of the tide of war in favour of the Allies.
Svetlana Gannushkina, a senior member of Russian human rights group Memorial, told Reuters: "Airport Stalingrad is a disgrace. It would imply justifying Stalin's repressions, which is indamissible.
Reuters
