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Volgograd to Regain Stalin's Name For Battle Anniversary
The Russian city of Volgograd will call itself Stalingrad again for a few days this year, to mark the 70th anniversary of the epic World War II battle in that city, after local officials approved the measure on Thursday.
The city legislature said Volgograd would be named "hero-city Stalingrad" on February 2, marking the end of the battle and other milestone dates, over half a century after the city's name was changed in 1961, following the campaign against Soviet leader Joseph Stalin's "cult of personality."
The decision was made "after numerous requests" from World War II veterans, the city government said in a statement.
The city decree means the city's old name – Stalingrad - can be used at demonstrations, in speeches and official reports on at least six dates starting this year, including Victory Day (celbrated in Russia on May 9), November 19 (the launch of the counterattack in Stalingrad) and September 2 (marked in Russia as the end of World War II), and other war-related occasions.
Source: RIANovostiVolgograd was originally named Tsaritsyn until 1925, when it was renamed after Stalin for his role in leading the Red Army in the city during the Civil War. The city got its present-day name under Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev as part of his de-Stalinization campaign, eight years after Stalin's death.
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