Stalingrad Post Office – 01
Statue of VI Lenin – Main Post Office – Stalingrad
There are still many statues of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin throughout what used to be the Soviet Union. Perhaps they’ve disappeared from some of the principal squares but they are still to be found in many towns and cities if you look for them. It’s true that many have been taken down (possibly destroyed in some places) but many of them, I’m sure, have just been placed into some sort of storage – although if you have the money and the space you find versions of Lenin for sale on the internet auction sites. These tend to be mainly from those virulent anti-Communist parts of the erstwhile Soviet Union, such as the Ukraine.
Stalingrad Post Office – 02
One of those which is out of the way is in Stalingrad, standing inside the service hall of the city’s main Post Office building, just a short walk down from the main railway station.
Stalingrad Post Office – 03
I came across this one purely by chance after deciding to walk into the post office just to see what was there. As with many post offices throughout the world it would have been very busy in the past but now is relatively quiet.
Stalingrad Post Office – 04
Literally in the centre of the circular service hall is a standing, white stone statue of Comrade Lenin. He’s on quite a high plinth so he’s looking over the heads of all who visit the building. It’s a more than life-size statue of him and he’s dressed in a suit. His stance is of someone who is making a speech or giving a presentation with his right arm outstretched and in his hand he holds a scrunched-up bunch of papers, presumably the notes for the speech.
(Note; the Hammer and Sickle on the ventilation grill.)
Stalingrad Post Office – 05
This statue appears to be in a good condition and is kept clean, so it is still being treated with respect by the staff who work in the post office.
Stalingrad Post Office – 06
As with most of the statues produced during the Soviet period there is rarely any indication of the actual sculptor. Nor was I able to tell exactly of what it was made, whether it was of sculptured stone or, more likely, of plaster.
Related;
Lenin Square, Stalingrad
Location;
Stalingrad Main Post Office, Ulitsa Mira, 9
GPS;
48.709544º N
44.514978º E