Volgograd

Volgograd (pop. 1,100,000), called Stalingrad 1925-1961, is a city on the west bank of Volga river in southwestern Volgograd oblast (province), Northern Caucasus district, Russia.

It was founded as a fortress by the name of Tsaritsyn in 1589 to defend the southern border of the Russian Empire. This name (in Tartar) was given to the town because it is situated where the river Tsaritsa meets the river Volga. The city was renamed to Stalingrad in 1925 because Stalin's leadership there during the civil war was supposed to have been decisive. This was a typical case of how Stalin was retroactively given a much larger role in the Revolution than he actually had.

Stalingrad was the site of the Battle of Stalingrad, which raged through the city from the summer of 1942 to February 2, 1943 - in terms of loss of human life, one of the costliest battles in history.

The city was renamed Volgograd in 1961 as part of Nikita Khrushchev's attempt to liberalize the Soviet Union somewhat after Stalin's rule. Today, there is a surprisingly large movement in Volgograd that wants to change the name back to Stalingrad, the general feeling being that the war and the battle were of greater importance than whether such a change could be marred by Stalin's name.