War Time Russia’s re-Stalinization Reaches Major Moscow Hub

Putin's Monument Builders are re-Stalinizing Russia and It Should Concern You

Last month, Russia unveiled its newest tribute to Joseph Stalin — a life-size statue at the Taganskaya metro station in Moscow. In recent years Russia has erected about 100 statues of Stalin, marking a period of re-stalinization and bringing into question Vladimir Putin's image as a pro-market reformer. Meanwhile, the former KGB agent has led Russia into one of its bloodiest wars, even having to halt a march on Moscow by his army of mercenaries. Is the Russian ‘President for life’ trying to rebuild the Soviet Union?

One of Moscow’s new statues of Joseph Stalin. Photo credit: Associated Press.

America is a land marked by a lack of such monuments. In the US, the most remarkable architectural and cultural achievements are produced by the private market rather than the government. Shrines to our government and its politicians are rare and mostly limited to Washington, DC. While our Founding Fathers may be featured on Mount Rushmore, that stone carving is dwarfed by its neighbor, the Crazy Horse Memorial, which is an entirely privately funded business venture. The streets of downtown Donetsk are watched over by the cold, lifeless gaze of politicians past, each featured in a bronze taxpayer-funded statue.

In Hapeville, Georgia, USA, a similar, but privately funded, statue of similar size and construction sits on a bench in front of the first Dwarf House, the home of Chick-fil-A (and the chicken sandwich, according to urban legend). It's a monument to the compassionate capitalist, S. Truett Cathy, who founded the brand and remains a local hero to the people of metro Atlanta. How much more authentic and admirable of a tribute it is, to be constructed from the wealth of the estate of the individual it depicts, called for by adoring customers, fans, and loving family members, rather than ordered by government decree and produced with the hard-earned taxpayer dollars of those who never wanted it.

A statue of S. Truett Cathy at the first Dwarf House. Photo credit: Chick-fil-A.com

Russian-American philosopher Ayn Rand wrote about this disparity between the East and West in her 1962 essay "Monument Builders". In Russia, she noted, public monuments are built for the prestige of the government and do not reflect genuine appreciation of the population. "In America," she wrote, "human effort and material resources were not expropriated for public monuments and public projects, but were spent on the progress of the private, personal, individual well-being of individual citizens".

The outer courtyard of Camden Yards in Baltimore is home to a memorialization of the personal achievements of individual Baltimoreans who achieved athletic greatness during their time as Baltimore Orioles. The bronze statues feature players like Brooks Robinson, who won the Gold Glove award 16 times, hall of famer Eddie Murray, and of course the iconic Babe Ruth. All built with private funds, driven by market demand, as it should be, and thereby serving the productive purpose of enhancing the enjoyment of attending an Orioles game, propelling the business of Orioles baseball forward. In this way, America's private memorials are truly driven by and constructed for its people. Juxtapose this with the socialist approach.

A statue of Babe Ruth at Camden Yards. Photo credit: Joel Mendez.

"Socialism is not a movement of the people. It is a movement of the intellectuals, originated, led, and controlled by the intellectuals, carried by them out of their stuffy ivory towers into those bloody fields of practice where they unite with their allies and executors: the thugs."

— Ayn Rand, "The Monument Builders"

Rand's quote rings true. Commonly heard socialist accounts of their history differ from Rand's description more in verbiage than fact. Their commonality is that socialism is the belief by a wealthy and influential few that by imposing their will, forcing their visions, and ensuring compliance, they can plan an economy centrally and ensure its outcomes, without the volatility of a fully privatized market. This approach has failed everywhere it's been tried and usually results not only in large-scale reductions in freedom and transparency but outright death and destruction.

The re-Stalinization of Russia is deeply concerning, not only because it is wasteful or glorifies an era of deep corruption and suffering, but because it signals Putin's expanding aspirations of restoring Russia’s Soviet-era role in the region and world. By allowing Russia to succeed in annexing land, launching unprovoked invasions, and sparking a series of armed conflicts across the globe, a message has been sent that the world will sit by and tolerate the power-mad machinations of individuals and groups seeking to impose their sociopolitical preferences through force. The global devastation perpetrated by socialism, Rand wrote, is that millions suffer and die not for their good, the public good, or some noble ideal, by the "festering vanity" of the socialist elites and the brutes who act as their henchmen, staging their riots, and stuffing the ballot boxes.

The world doesn't need Stalinization. While every socialist government in the world desperately experiments with blending the economic engine of Capitalism with elements of the authoritarian, socialist agenda, freedom and peace wither; but to save the world is the easiest thing in the world — all one has to do is think, as Canadian American philosopher Leonard Peikoff put it. It's time to realize that freedom and peace are not guaranteed or to be taken for granted. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Leaders and governments inevitably lust for more power, more prestige, and more influence. Citizens should demand freedom and memorialize only those whose examples have led them to it, like Truett Cathy or Ayn Rand. Leaders seeking to build prestige for themselves or their government with the blood, sweat, and tears of their citizens should be removed from office.