Moscow, Apr 30 (PTI) In the run-up to Victory Day on May 9, marking the defeat of Nazi Germany, the Russian government has restored the original name, Stalingrad, for the Volgograd International Airport.

Stalingrad was renamed Volgograd in 1961 during Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev's de-Stalinisation drive.

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The Battle of Stalingrad, fought along the Volga River, was a pivotal moment in World War II. On February 2, 1943, Soviet forces defeated advancing German armies assisted by Italian, Romanian, Hungarian, and Croatian Axis forces, turning the tide of war in Eastern Europe.

During a visit to Volgograd on Tuesday to attend a forum with his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, Russian President Vladimir Putin was approached by war veterans who urged him to restore the airport's original name to Stalingrad.

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Responding swiftly, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin issued an order on Wednesday for the Volgograd airport to be renamed Stalingrad.

In the Soviet era, several attempts were made by local leaders to restore the old name of Volgograd to Stalingrad. However, the Kremlin had ignored these requests, fearing it could be seen as the exoneration of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

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