Novokuznetsk mayor refuses to install statue of Stalin

Sergei Kuznetsov, the mayor for Novokuznetsk (a city in southwestern Siberia), has refused to install a statue of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, according to the news agency Flash Siberia.

“Controversial facts and appraisals about Stalin's life and his actions are unlikely to give the desired effect in a patriotic upbringing or to consolidate society. Monuments should unite people and at the same serve as a decoration for the city,” Kuznetsov said.