Volgograd to Temporarily Display Stalingrad on Road Signs

On the morning of February 2, road signs reading «Stalingrad» will be installed at the entrances to Volgograd. The return of the historical name is timed to coincide with the Day of the Defeat of the Nazi German Forces by Soviet Troops in the Battle of Stalingrad. The work will be carried out by the municipal budgetary institutions «Severnoye» and «Yuzhnoye».

— On the eve of February 2 — the Day of the Defeat of the Nazi German Forces by Soviet Troops in the Battle of Stalingrad — on all main entrances to the hero-city, road signs with the name «Volgograd» will be temporarily replaced with plates bearing the historical name Stalingrad, — the city administration reported. — Preparation for the date will begin on February 1; municipal road enterprise workers will replace the plates on all main entrances to the city so that by the morning of February 2, residents and guests of Volgograd are greeted by road signs with the name Stalingrad. After a day, the signs will be returned to their previous appearance.

Signs «Beginning of a Populated Area» and «End of a Populated Area» with the inscription «Stalingrad» will appear here:

Syzran — Saratov — Volgograd;

Volgograd — Kamensk-Shakhtinsky;

R-22 «Caspian»;

regional highway R-221 and others.

The city changes its name nine times a year in Volgograd. This is directly related to important historical dates of the city: February 2 (Day of the Defeat of the Nazi German Forces by Soviet Troops in the Battle of Stalingrad), February 23 (Defender of the Fatherland Day), May 8 (Day of Volgograd Being Awarded the Honorary Title of Hero-City), May 9 (Victory Day of the Soviet People in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945), June 22 (Day of Memory and Sorrow — the day of the start of the Great Patriotic War), August 23 (Day of Memory of the Victims of the Massive Bombing of the City of Stalingrad by Nazi German Aviation), September 3 (Victory Day Over Militarist Japan and the End of World War II), November 19 (Day of the Start of the Defeat of Fascist Forces Near the City of Stalingrad), and December 9 (Day of Heroes of the Fatherland).

As for the permanent renaming of the city, the question remains open to this day. In particular, CPRF leader Gennady Zyuganov, ahead of the celebration of the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, called for renaming the city. His colleague, leader of the «A Just Russia» party Sergey Mironov, supported him, reminding that even in Paris there is a metro station «Stalingrad». However, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin gave a rather sharp response to the communists regarding the renaming, reminding that it was under the communists that Tsaritsyn was renamed first to Stalingrad and then to Volgograd.

Historians, meanwhile, recalled Joseph Stalin«s own viewpoint on the renaming of Tsaritsyn to Stalingrad. However, on the evening of April 29, 2025, after a meeting in Volgograd between Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko, Governor Andrey Bocharov asked the head of state to support the initiative of veterans and participants of the SVO to assign the honorary name Stalingrad to Volgograd International Airport. Vladimir Putin promised to prepare and sign the relevant document immediately after returning to Moscow.

Approximately two hours later, the presidential decree on assigning the honorary name Stalingrad to Volgograd International Airport appeared on the Kremlin website and entered into legal force. At the same time, the decree separately notes that the geographical name of the airport does not change. As for the issue of renaming the city as a whole, according to the president, this should be decided by the people, not selected individuals.