Stalin statue decapitated in Russia, near Moscow

An unidentified individual armed with a sledgehammer decapitated a statue of Joseph Stalin in a park near Moscow, Russian state media reported on Saturday.

Video footage from Zvenigorod shows the suspect staggering around the statue before delivering a single blow that severed its head. The man then walked away from the scene.

“On Saturday, in one of Zvenigorod’s parks, a man in an unwell state knocked the head off the bust of Joseph Stalin with a sledgehammer,” a law enforcement source told RIA, the state-run news agency.

In addition to the Stalin statue, the man also damaged a bust of Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin before fleeing. Local police are now searching for the suspect, according to state media reports.

The Stalin statue was erected by pro-veteran activists in the summer of 2023. It faced possible removal after local authorities argued it had been installed without proper authorization. However, this decision was overturned following complaints from the activists on social media, local outlets reported.

Joseph Stalin, who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953, is a contentious figure in Russia. While some venerate him for his role in World War II, others denounce him for his oppressive regime, which saw millions imprisoned or executed.

Though many Stalin monuments have been dismantled across the former Soviet Union, there has been a resurgence of positive official sentiment towards him since President Vladimir Putin’s rise to power.