In an effort to perpetuate the memory of party comrades, the leaders of the Soviet state in the twenties of the last century began to rename cities and towns. And in the names of settlements appeared numerous names of the rivers of Lenin, Stalin, Sverdlov, Kirov. Later Izhevsk turned into Ustinov, Rybinsk - into Andropov, and Naberezhnye Chelny - into Brezhnev. This fate did not escape the ancient city of Tsaritsyn, which changed its name even twice - to Stalingrad and Volgograd. And not so long ago there was a project for a third renaming.
Decisions of the XXII Congress - in life
Formally, the decision to rename the newly rebuilt Stalingrad into Volgograd was made by the Central Committee of the CPSU "at the request of the workers" on November 10, 1961 - just a week and a half after the completion of the XXII Congress of the Communist Party in Moscow. But in fact, it turned out to be quite logical for those times a continuation of the anti-Stalin campaign unfolded at the main party forum. The apotheosis of which was the removal of Stalin's body from the Mausoleum, secret from the people and even most of the party. And the hasty reburial of the now former and not at all terrible secretary general at the Kremlin wall - late at night, without the obligatory speeches, flowers, guard of honor and fireworks that are obligatory in such cases.
It is curious that when taking such a state decision, none of the Soviet leaders dared to declare its necessity and importance personally, from the rostrum of the same congress. Including head of state and party Nikita Khrushchev. Ivan Spiridonov, a modest party official, secretary of the Leningrad Regional Party Committee, who was soon safely dismissed, was instructed to "voice" the leading opinion.
One of the many decisions of the Central Committee, designed to finally eliminate the consequences of the so-called personality cult, was the renaming of all settlements previously named after Stalin - Ukrainian Stalino (now Donetsk), Tajik Stalinabad (Dushanbe), Georgian-Ossetian Staliniri (Tskhinvali), German Stalinstadt (Eisenhüttenstadt), Russian Stalinsk (Novokuznetsk) and the hero city of Stalingrad. Moreover, the latter did not receive the historical name Tsaritsyn, but, without further ado, was named after the river flowing in it - Volgograd. Perhaps this was due to the fact that Tsaritsyn could remind people of the not-so-old times of the monarchy.
The decision of the party leaders was not influenced even by the historical fact that the name of the key battle in the Great Patriotic War, the Battle of Stalingrad, has passed from the past to the present and has survived to this day. And that the whole world calls the city where it took place at the turn of 1942 and 1943, namely Stalingrad. At the same time, focusing not on the names of the late Generalissimo and the commander-in-chief, but on the truly steel courage and heroism of the Soviet soldiers who defended the city and defeated the Nazis.
Not in honor of kings
The earliest historical mention of the city on the Volga is dated July 2, 1589. And its first name was Tsaritsyn. Historians' opinions on this matter, by the way, differ. Some of them believe that it came from the Turkic phrase Sary-chin (translated as Yellow Island). Others point out that the Tsaritsa River flowed not far from the 16th-century border shooter settlement. But both of them agreed on one thing: the name has no special relation to the queen, and indeed to the monarchy. Consequently, Stalingrad in 1961 could well have returned its former name.
Was Stalin angry?
Historical documents from early Soviet times indicate that the initiator of the renaming of Tsaritsyn to Stalingrad, which happened on April 10, 1925, was not Joseph Stalin himself or some of the communists of a lower leadership level, but ordinary residents of the city, an impersonal public. Like, in this way the workers and intellectuals wanted to thank "dear Joseph Vissarionovich" for participating in the defense of Tsaritsyn during the Civil War. They say that Stalin, having learned about the initiative of the townspeople after the fact, allegedly expressed even displeasure about this. However, he did not cancel the decision of the City Council. And soon thousands of settlements, streets, football teams and enterprises named after the "leader of the peoples" appeared in the USSR.
Tsaritsyn or Stalingrad
A few decades after Stalin's name disappeared from Soviet maps, it seemed, forever, a discussion erupted in Russian society and in Volgograd itself about whether to return the city's historical name? And if so, which of the two previous ones? Even the Russian presidents Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin made their contribution to the unfolding process of discussions and disputes, at various times who invited the townspeople to express their opinion on this matter at a referendum and promised to take it into account. And the first did it on the Mamayev Kurgan in Volgograd, the second - at a meeting with veterans of the Great Patriotic War in France.
And on the eve of the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Stalingrad, the country was surprised by the deputies of the local Duma. Taking into account, according to them, the numerous requests of veterans, they decided to consider Volgograd as Stalingrad for six days a year. These memorable dates at the local legislative level were:
February 2 - the day of the final victory in the Battle of Stalingrad;
May 9 - Victory Day;
June 22 - Day of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War;
August 23 - Day of Remembrance for the victims of the bloodiest bombing of the city;
September 2 - Day of the end of World War II;
November 19 - Day of the beginning of the defeat of the Nazis at Stalingrad.
