News
Russia turns to communism to boost tourism
20 April 2006
Russia's Soviet past is being used as a tourist attraction.
The region of Krasnoyarsk in south Siberia is to restore a memorial of Stalin to encourage tourists to visit the area.
Yevgeny Pashenko, aide to the Krasnoyarsk governor, told the Interfax news agency: 'The idea was launched by travel agents.
'It's a purely commercial project aimed to attract tourists in the region, without any political basis.'
The 400-square-metre memorial complete with a life-size statue of the Soviet leader in the town of Kureika was closed in 1961 and was almost destroyed by fire in 1995.
The idea of restoring the monument first came during the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, when a statue of Stalin was temporarily erected in the town.
The city of Volgograd, formerly known as Stalingrad, has also recently opened a Stalin museum - capitalising on the leader's growing popularity within Russia and the growing interest of international tourists in Soviet history.
© Adfero Ltd
The region of Krasnoyarsk in south Siberia is to restore a memorial of Stalin to encourage tourists to visit the area.
Yevgeny Pashenko, aide to the Krasnoyarsk governor, told the Interfax news agency: 'The idea was launched by travel agents.
'It's a purely commercial project aimed to attract tourists in the region, without any political basis.'
The 400-square-metre memorial complete with a life-size statue of the Soviet leader in the town of Kureika was closed in 1961 and was almost destroyed by fire in 1995.
The idea of restoring the monument first came during the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, when a statue of Stalin was temporarily erected in the town.
The city of Volgograd, formerly known as Stalingrad, has also recently opened a Stalin museum - capitalising on the leader's growing popularity within Russia and the growing interest of international tourists in Soviet history.
© Adfero Ltd
