On May 15, the Moscow Metro revealed a life-sized wall sculpture of Joseph Stalin at Taganskaya station. Officials called it “a gift to passengers” to celebrate the transit system’s 90th anniversary. The sculpture’s return was kept quiet, with part of the station closed for “wall repairs,” and most riders unaware of the installation until after the unveiling.
The next day, activists covered the sculpture with quotes from Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev condemning Stalin’s repressions. The liberal Yabloko party launched a petition against the monument, calling it an insult to Stalin’s victims. Former Pushkin Museum director Elizaveta Likhacheva criticized the sculpture as “amateurish,” sparking debate about normalizing Stalinist imagery.
Taganskaya station opened in 1950, designed in a lavish late-Stalinist style. The original sculpture, created by Yevgenia Blinova and Pavel Balandin, was made of plaster and later replaced by a durable white-and-gold majolica ceramic panel. It showed Stalin among a joyful crowd on Red Square with plaques honoring Soviet “Hero Cities” from WWII.
During de-Stalinization in the late 1950s, Stalin’s image was removed from the sculpture, replaced with coats of arms or Lenin’s portrait, and renamed “Victory Salute on Red Square.” The panel was dismantled entirely in 1966 during station renovations, and the original was lost.
Though the Metro claims the new sculpture is an “exact replica,” experts disagree. Architecture researcher Alexander Zinoviev noted differences in materials and colors. Historian Alexander Usoltsev pointed out anatomical errors in Stalin’s figure, suggesting the work was done by amateurs, not professionals.
Likhacheva explained that a real restoration would require porcelain experts and specialized kiln work. Instead, the new piece is a 3D-printed plastic shell painted to mimic porcelain. She called it a “PR stunt” rather than true art.
The sculpture was announced on May 10 but faced immediate criticism. Moscow City Duma deputy Alexander Davankov called Stalin a “controversial figure” and proposed a public vote on the monument’s fate. The unveiling happened without public input.
Yabloko demands removal, calling the sculpture a “disgrace” and offensive to Stalin’s victims. The Communist Party praised it as “historical justice” and hopes for more Stalin images across Moscow.
Historian Yan Rachinsky called the sculpture “anti-historical” since Stalin’s cult ended after his atrocities were exposed. He reminded that Stalin was responsible for deaths among Moscow Metro workers, yet the subway honors him with a statue.
Sculptor Dmitry Tugarinov warned that restoring such monuments must be done carefully to avoid controversy. He criticized both the removal and the return of Stalin statues as misguided.
