Defend the Memory of "Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad" from the Russian Govt. and Orthodox Church

Officials of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and the fascist authorities of bourgeois Russia are planning to denigrate the memory and the graves of Soviet soldiers who sacrificed their lives to defend the peoples of the USSR, the peoples of Europe and many other countries of the world from the fascist domination during the Second World War! Officials of the ROC and fascist authorities of Russia are planning on denigrating the graves of the fighters of Stalingrad on Mamaev’s Kurgan!

The administration of Volgograd (former Stalingrad) has allowed the construction of an orthodox church, the “Cathedral of all Saints” on Mamaev’s Kurgan within the territory of the complex of monuments dedicated to the “Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad”; (Bill passed by the administration of Volgograd, 900, 23.09.1999). Orthodox popes are planning to construct the church right at the graveyard of Soviet soldiers who died in the years of the Great Patriotic War liberating Stalingrad from the occupation of fascist animals, and who are now buried in the walls of Stalingrad at Mamaev’s Kurgan.

The administration of Volgograd has allowed the church to take over a territory of 6175 square meters on Mamaev’s Kurgan (Bill 1138 passed on 09.09.1999). De facto the church has privatized part of the territory of the graveyard of our heroes.

Not popes are buried in the graveyard of Mamaev’s Kurgan, but our fathers. It was not the orthodox faith that our fathers-heroes upheld against the fascist occupation, but our Socialist Homeland. The vast majority of the defenders of Stalingrad were atheist and among those religious there were representatives of various confessions. Anyway, all of them were faithful sons of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and defended Stalingrad!

The Soviet people supported the construction of a memorial complex to honor the historic victory of the defenders of Stalingrad. The patriots of the proletarian movement “Labor Stalingrad”, have shown eloquently and have diligently informed the central authorities that such a construction on Mamaev’s Kurgan may lead to the destruction of the memorial complex due to landslide. The circumstance is known to the authorities of the ROC and the administration of Volgograd.

According to the bill passed by the Soviet of ministers of the RSFSR 1327 on 30.08.1968 and reinforced by the Presidential bill 170 on 29.02.1995, memorial complex to the defenders of Stalingrad is a state property. Therefore this arbitrary decision adopted by the administration of Volgograd is illegal and it should be considered as a serious offence, a crime.

As a result we consider the construction of a church in the territory of the graveyard of our fathers on Mamaev’s Kurgan as an attempt to dishonor the tombs of the defenders of Stalingrad, a denigration of the memory of all anti-fascist fighters of our country and abroad who sacrificed their lives during the Second World War to defend the peoples of the world from fascist domination!

Also, the construction of an orthodox church on the territory of Mamaev’s Kurgan is an insult to those heroes buried there who belonged to other confessions.

We call on the proletariat of Russia, to the peoples of the world, to help defend the glorious memory of those heroes who died in the course of the harsh struggle against fascist barbarism during the years of the Second World War!

Help prevent the denigration of the glorious graves of the heroic defenders of Stalingrad who sacrificed their lives to stop the fascist plague, that resulted into a turning point in the course of the Great Patriotic War and opened the path toward the victory over bloody fascism.