Russia's Communist leader has voiced support for a referendum to rename the city of Volgograd as Stalingrad, and has suggested that St. Petersburg readopt its Soviet-era name of Leningrad.
"Only two cities have been subjected to name changes after the Great Patriotic war — Leningrad and Stalingrad" Communist Party head Gennady Zyuganov told Russian News Service.
"They were not awarded the title of "Hero City for nothing, the whole world knows them as Leningrad and Stalingrad" Zyuganov said, adding the people of St. Petersburg had to be called upon to back the name change.
During D-Day commemorations in Normandy last week, President Vladimir Putin suggested that residents of the city once dubbed after Soviet dictator Josef Stalin could vote to change its current name — Volgograd — back to Stalingrad.
A number of Russian politicians and the Orthodox Church have voiced support for the proposal.
See also:
Putin Signals Support for Hypothetical Stalingrad Referendum
