One Ilyich and three Stalinodar: four attempts to rename Moscow

The renaming of cities, streets, parks, sidewalks was one of the main attractions of the Soviet nomenklatura. On the map there were thousands of names, glorifying the party leaders, which the descendants have forgotten without any regret. And the names of those who can hardly ever forget, become the names of entire cities. It turns out that even the original name of the capital was going to ruin. Yes, not once, but four times.

For the first time Moscow has undertaken to rename three years after the death of Lenin in February 1927. That petition was laid on the table of the Chairman of the all-Russian Central Executive Committee (VTSIK) of Mikhail Kalinin, signed by more than 200 officials. They offered to call the capital Ilyich. In the argument stated that "it was Lenin who established the free Russia."

The temporary mausoleum posed on the red square after Lenin's death

The probability of a topographic reforms was quite high. The more experience you rename major cities already had: Petrograd became Leningrad five days after the death of the leader of the world proletariat. However, the final word was for Stalin, who then already had unlimited power. Stalin decided that two cities in the country in honor of Lenin is a bust.

After 11 years violent activities developed by the people's Commissar of the NKVD Yezhov. Stalin with an iron hand was out of the way of political rivals, and career of Nikolai Ivanovich could at any time break (which, in General, in a short time and happened). Now Yezhov and decided to appease Stalin.

At his direction, staff have prepared a special project on the renaming of Moscow Stalinodar. The document was the application, which cited the mealy-mouthed statements of workers in favor of renaming. But Stalin this fawning is not appreciated. The Presidium of the Supreme Council reported that the head against.