The installation of a bust of Stalin on the plant's grounds surprised Astrakhan residents.

THIS MATERIAL (INFORMATION) WAS PRODUCED AND DISTRIBUTED BY THE FOREIGN AGENT MEMO LLC, OR CONCERNING THE ACTIVITIES OF THE FOREIGN AGENT MEMO LLC.

Local communists installed a bust of Joseph Stalin at the entrance to the production facilities of the Astrakhan Shipbuilding Production Association. Local activists are surprised that the bust's installation was not publicized. They believe the general apolitical nature of the city's residents contributed to this.

The bust of Joseph Stalin was installed on the pedestal that previously housed a bust of Vladimir Lenin in early October.

ASPO is part of the Southern Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Center of the United Shipbuilding Corporation. Before the Communist Party condemned Stalin's personality cult, this plant bore his name. In the 1960s, a bust of Lenin appeared at the entrance. Since then, it has rarely been repaired, and "in the 2000s, the bust's condition worsened," Communist Party member Andrei Anatolyevich told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent on October 21.

We have restored historical justice. The plant was named after Stalin. Now Stalin has been returned to its historical location.

The man reported that the bust of Stalin was installed at the initiative of the regional branch of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, and the plant's management has only a compliant attitude toward this idea. "We have restored historical justice. The plant was named after Stalin. Now Stalin has been returned to its historical location. What else is there to explain? "In my opinion, everything is perfectly clear," stated the Astrakhan communist.

At the plant's management, employees refused to answer questions from a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent over the phone, suggesting that I write an official request to management.

Astrakhan residents interviewed by a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent expressed bewilderment over the installation of the Stalin bust.

Taxi driver Azamat Shamratov identified himself as a fifth-generation Astrakhan resident. The news of the bust's installation surprised him. "I hadn't heard anything about it at all. They quietly installed it. Usually, when monuments are erected in the city, they loudly announce it on local television and social media. But here there was complete silence. "It's very strange and suspicious," he said.

The man said that his ancestors suffered under Stalin's repressions in the 1930s. He doesn't know why exactly, as it was "a family secret that wasn't told to the children." "Thirty years ago, they talked a lot about Stalin's crimes. Now they're trying to rehabilitate him. I think that's wrong. Such decisions (about installing a bust of Stalin, - Caucasian Knot note) should only be made after public hearings. I believe the bust of Stalin was installed illegally," Shamratov said.

"I don't know where it was placed. "There was no information," said Astrakhan political activist Sergey Shcherbakov.

He noted that, despite the ship repair yard being renamed after the 20th Congress of the CPSU, Astrakhan residents continued to call it "Stalin's Plant" until recently. "I have no thoughts on this matter. I share the opinion of those who are against it. "Much has been said about Stalin's role in our history; there's nothing to add," Sergei noted.

Retiree Vladimir Terekhov is a former member of a local human rights organization that ceased operations in the early 2000s. Vladimir noted that Astrakhan residents are "generally apolitical" and "historically illiterate."

In another city, protests would have erupted against this bust. Activists would have filed complaints with regulatory authorities and the mayor's office. But here, there's silence, as if nothing special had happened.

"In another city, protests would have erupted against this bust. Activists would have filed complaints with regulatory authorities and the mayor's office. But here, there's silence, as if nothing special had happened. "Someone arbitrarily erected a bust of a tyrant convicted by communists, and it's still standing," he said indignantly.

The man noted that more than 51,000 Astrakhan residents had been arrested for political offenses in the Astrakhan Region. He cited the tragedy at the Astrakhan Technical Institute of Fishing Industry and Economy as an example of the destruction of a large group of intellectuals. According to Terekhov, at least 40 professors and students there passed through the NKVD's dungeons. "Now a memorial stone has been erected on the grounds of the Astrakhan State Technical University in memory of these people. These are the kind of monuments that should be erected, not a bust of Stalin. I'm outraged that this was done secretly, without public hearings. "I am outraged by the passivity and voicelessness of our public," the pensioner said.

A statement regarding the installation of the bust was made on social media by Astrakhan political scientist Mikhail Doliev*. He assessed not only the installation of the Stalin bust but also the idea of unveiling a monument to Ivan the Terrible in the city. He called both tyrants, people "suffering from a severe form of paranoia and sadism."

"This isn't just a question of bronze and granite – it's a question of conscience, memory, and the future of Russia," Mikhail began his message.

"We must not allow our city to be turned into a symbol of the cult of tyranny." "Monuments should inspire, not frighten," he concluded his address.

We are now seeing monuments to tyrants being restored—and this is an alarming sign, a reminder to all who value freedom that the past is already repeating itself.

In a conversation with a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, Doliev* noted that the Stalin monument was erected in Astrakhan "secretly, without consulting residents." "It was also removed secretly earlier, in 1956. People were afraid to speak about their repressed relatives back then. Many still don't know that their ancestors suffered. The archives are closed, and searches are discouraged. This bust (removed from its pedestal at the factory entrance) stood for many years in the regional committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, biding its time. "Now we're seeing monuments to tyrants being reinstated—and this is an alarming sign, a reminder to all who value freedom that the past is repeating itself," said Mikhail Doliev*.

The political scientist noted that there's been no public reaction in Astrakhan; few Astrakhan residents, he said, read regional news. Mostly, everyone watches federal television channels. "But what I've been able to study shows the majority's reaction without the political context: 'It would be better if they fixed the sewer system.' That is, the reaction is expressed in economic terms. <...> I've never seen that monument near the plant online. Apparently, it was standard. But I saw that bust gathering dust in a storage room at the regional party committee office, around 2010," said Doliev*.

"Astrakhan Oblast legislation establishes a special legal procedure for installing monuments. "The initiators of their installation could be, for example, public associations, legal entities, or individuals," international law expert Professor Roman Melnichenko told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. He noted that such petitions are reviewed by a special commission, which, after reviewing the submitted documents, can recommend that the Astrakhan regional government approve or deny the petition. "And only after that does the government make a final decision. If this procedure is not followed, the installation of the monument is illegal." This law also applies to the installation of monuments on private property, as a monument is a "public matter" (jus publicum), and a special permit-based installation procedure applies to all monuments located in public spaces," Melnichenko believes.

The expert cited a widely publicized precedent for the demolition of a similar monument to Stalin. It occurred in July 2025, when the Arbitration Court of the Vologda Region ordered the return of a work of art—a monument to I.V. Stalin—to "individual entrepreneur Ekaterina Konstantinovna Lozhenitsyna," meaning its removal from the grounds of the Vologda State Historical, Architectural, and Art Museum-Reserve, where it had been installed. However, this removal occurred not due to a violation of the rules for its installation, but due to a violation of the rules for its commissioning. "Generally, de jure, the installation of images of Joseph Stalin in public spaces is legally impossible." Indeed, according to the Constitutional Court's ruling on the "CPSU Case," a decision was made to dissolve the governing bodies of the CPSU and the Communist Party of the RSFSR, as organizations carrying out a coup d'état and, in essence, extremist organizations. "Iosif Dzhugashvili is associated with the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, which means his display falls under Part 1 of Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation - public display of paraphernalia or symbols of extremist organizations," said Roman Melnichenko.

"A possible response to the illegal installation of a monument to a person who carried out a coup d'état and was engaged in terrorist activities is to contact the prosecutor's office or file an individual or collective lawsuit to remove the monument," the lawyer concluded.

As previously reported by the "Caucasian Knot," debates have been raging in Volgograd for several years about renaming the city to Stalingrad. In 2023, this was demanded by participants in the May Day rally of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, who called the reports of Stalin's mass repressions exaggerated. Airport renaming It fits into a series of conscious and unconscious attempts to rehabilitate Stalin's name, but there is no real public demand for this, according to historians and human rights activists interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot". The city airport was renamed from "Gumrak" to "Stalingrad" after Vladimir Putin intervened. On April 29, 2025, he announced his support for the initiative of veterans and participants of the SVO, signing a decree on the renaming on the same day. At the same time, some citizens strongly opposed the renaming, recalling that under Stalin 250,000 Stalingrad residents were repressed.

Under Stalin, mass arrests, deportations, and executions were carried out on ethnic grounds, entire peoples were declared "hostile", according to a "Caucasian Knot" report. "10 Myths About Stalin's Role in the Great Patriotic War.