Lawmaker Proposes Renaming Volgograd and St. Petersburg

A bill to rename Volgograd to Stalingrad and St. Petersburg to Leningrad was submitted to the State Duma. KPRF State Duma deputy Angelika Glazkova proposed a bill on the status of Hero Cities, under which St. Petersburg should become Leningrad and Volgograd should become Stalingrad.

Consensus

The law proposal was submitted by Deputy Anzhelika Glazkova from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation.
The proposal aims to rename Volgograd to Stalinград and Saint Petersburg to Leningrad.
The renaming would be completed within one year after the law comes into force.
The law would prohibit future renaming of cities with the title 'City-Hero'.
Documents issued in Volgograd and Saint Petersburg would retain legal validity until replaced.
The law would establish the official status of 'City-Hero' and require the display of the Order of Lenin and the 'Golden Star' medal on city symbols.
The proposal is based on the idea of restoring historical justice and preserving memory of World War II.
The law was published in the State Duma's electronic database.
The cities were originally granted the 'City-Hero' status by Joseph Stalin in 1945.

Points of divergence

The proposal does not require additional federal budget expenditures. — gazeta_spb
Temporary name changes to 'Stalingrad' occur nine times a year in Volgograd on commemorative dates related to World War II. — vm
In April 2025, President Vladimir Putin stated that the decision on renaming Volgograd should be made by its residents. — vedomosti
In May 2025, State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin criticized the proposal, noting that the name 'Stalingrad' was abandoned even during the Soviet period. — vedomosti
The proposal is the first time both cities have been targeted for simultaneous renaming. — tg_moscowtimes_ru
In January 2024, presidential candidate Nikolai Kharchenkov proposed a national referendum on renaming Saint Petersburg to Leningrad, and a non-referendum return of the name Stalingrad to Volgograd. — tg_echoonline_news
In 2025, Gennady Zyuganov again raised the issue of renaming Volgograd. — tg_echoonline_news

Coverage (15 sources)

Deputy Secretary of the OP Grib spoke against renaming St. Petersburg and Volgograd — Вечерняя Москва
Legislation to rename Saint Petersburg to Leningrad and Volgograd to Stalingrad was introduced by deputy... to the parliament chamber — ТАСС (Telegram)
In the State Duma, it was proposed to return the former names of Volgograd and St. Petersburg — РИАМО
A bill to rename Volgograd to Stalingrad and St. Petersburg to Leningrad was submitted to the State Duma — The Moscow Times
Duma deputy proposes renaming St. Petersburg to Leningrad and Volgograd to Stalingrad — ЭХО / Новости
Legislation to rename Saint Petersburg to Leningrad and Volgograd to Stalingrad was introduced by deputy... to the parliament chamber — ТАСС (Telegram)
Deputies proposed returning St. Petersburg the name Leningrad - SPB Newspaper - St. Petersburg news — Gazeta.SPb
In the State Duma, a project on renaming Volgograd and St. Petersburg was introduced — Вести
In the State Duma, it was proposed to rename St. Petersburg to Leningrad — Вечерняя Москва
Communist deputy proposed to restore names of Stalingrad and Leningrad — Ведомости
KPRF deputy Angelika Glazkova proposes renaming St. Petersburg to Leningrad and Volgograd to Stalingrad, follows... — Varlamov News
Returning the names of St. Petersburg and Volgograd to Leningrad and Stalingrad proposed in the State Duma. — РИА Новости (Telegram)
A bill to rename St. Petersburg as Leningrad and Volgograd as Stalingrad was submitted to the State Duma — Дождь
A bill to rename St. Petersburg to Leningrad and Volgograd to Stalingrad was submitted to the State Duma — Дождь (Telegram)
A bill to rename St. Petersburg to Leningrad was submitted to the State Duma — Агентство. Новости

Lawmaker Proposes Renaming Volgograd and St. Petersburg

Consensus

Points of divergence

Coverage (15 sources)

Key entities

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