Putin sparks Russians' anger with 'disrespectful' move

A controversial new monument at the central Taganskaya station in Moscow has sparked fury and divided opinion among Russians, leading some to voice rare criticism against officials. A life-sized statue of USSR dictator Joseph Stalin, who was responsible for the deaths of millions of people, has been recently unveiled.

The dictator led the from 1924 until his death in 1953 and his leadership was marked by substantial human suffering, repression and violence. Millions of people were killed in purges, famines and his infamous gulag labour camps. However, the new monument makes no mention of the bloody mark he left on the country.

Instead, in the unveiled statue Stalin is depicted as a leader who was loved by his people, with crowds of workers and children reaching out towards him in adoration. The piece has been described as a "gift" to passengers by Moscow's metro system, and it was unveiled to mark its 90th anniversary.

The new monument has been met with mixed opinions. Some have described it as "the right decision", marking the history of the Russian state. Piles of red carnations lie at Stalin's feet. One woman, Olga, told : "It's excellent. History of art, culture, significance, beauty."

However, not all agree. "What were they thinking?!" asked Svetlana. "How many died under his leadership? And suddenly he appears here, this bloodsucker. How is this possible?!"

"We should remember and honour some of his deeds," added Oleg. "But to put him like this is disrespectful. He did a lot of bad things for the Soviet people."

The sculpture is a replica of one that was first installed in 1950, three year's before Stalin's death, to honour his role in the Soviet Union's defeat of Nazi Germany in . However, it was removed in the 1960s during the period of "de-Stalinisation".

Under Vladimir Putin's rule, images of the notorious dictator have begun to reappear across Russia. Until now, it has mostly been on a small scale, far from the capital. This is the first time such a prominent and central monument has been erected.

Putin has previously condemned Stalin's actions, but added that Russia should not be made to feel guilty about its past.

"For the current government, the main thing is the state. The state is sacred, the state is above everything, the state is infallible," said Yan Rachinsky, a human rights activist who works to expose Stalin's crimes at the Moscow branch of Memorial. "That is why criticism of Stalin is constantly decreasing."

The renowned rights group now operates on a local level after the Russian Supreme Court ordered the closure of International Memorial in 2021.