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Stalingrad will be using it's old Stalin-era name during events commemorating the Soviet defeat of the German 6th Army there in 1953. The German TV has been pretty full of documentaries about Stalingrad and the fate of the 6th Army the last couple of weeks. They even managed to dig up a couple of Wehrmacht vets who surrendered and survived Soviet captivity. There have been quite a few really good shows that are supposed to climax this weekend since tomorrow is the anniversary of the Russian victory.
“The city was renamed Volgograd in 1961 as part of the Soviet Union's rejection of dictator Joseph Stalin's personality cult.”I find it peculiar that the Soviets wanted to curb Soviet enthusiasm in the 1960s.
They did not want to curb Soviet enthusiasm, they wanted to destroy the cult of personality Stalin had encouraged. That is a minor but significant difference.
Well, then, I still find it peculiar that they wanted to destroy the cult of a figure who is so closely identified with the USSR. As for what you point out, I am guessing that the “cult of personality” was a threat because it could be used by those who were at odds with the post-Stalin leaders. Crushing it would help remove internal division.
When Kruschev came to power the Russians went through a de-Stalinization process that was even more destructive than the Allied de-Nazification post-WWII. Wikipedia has a brief but incomplete explanation of the process.
