The erection of a memorial to the honour of Josef Stalin is just causing a scandal in Krasnoyarsk. Last night it became known to us that the matter is already going to be settled among the representatives of the town administration. Opponents of the idea immediately addressed a letter of indignation to the mayor. Ardent admirers of the Leader, however, are convinced that the memorial has to be erected by all means. Both sides are ready to fight.
Deputee Oleg Pashchenko calls himself a Stalinist, although he admits that he did not like the Leader when he was young. He began to understand that man, when he started to dedicate himself to policy. In spite of many ifs and buts he is convinced that Stalin lived up to a good reputation and, for that reason, deserves to be paid reference to. The representatives of the “Memorial” organization could hardly believe their ears when hearing all this. When they learned that the mayor had received the instruction from the regional administration to start attending carefully to the question of erecting a Stalin memorial, they were so shocked that they immediately drew up an open letter to Petr Pimashkov. There is no unanimity among the citizens of Krasnoyarsk. The town administration has great fears of a split-up of society and a full-fledged scandal. The mayor today informed that this matter willnot be discussed for the time being.
The representatives of the “Memorial” organization entertain hopes that the problem will be solved peacefully. However, they are prepared to go to the last extreme, in order to avoid a return to Stalinism. And the historians keep quiet. Just a single memorial – does not mean a personality cult yet. After all, every factory administration was decorated with a Stalin bust in the 1950.
Julia Kurbatova
STS-Prima