Kremlin.ru Following Putin's announcement, Russian political and spiritual leaders expressed support for a potential name change of the city of Volgograd. 
 
 If the people of Volgograd want to change their city's name to Stalingrad, Russia will respect their choice, President Vladimir Putin said when a war veteran asked about the issue during a D-Day memorial in Normandy. 
 
 "We will do as the residents [of Volgograd] say," Putin told a crowd of veterans on Friday, Itar-Tass reported. 
 
 Volgograd authorities announced on Saturday that the city council had not yet received any proposals for a name change referendum. Last year, municipal authorities voted for the city to adopt its former name for six days each year for commemorative purposes. 
 
 Volgograd was the site of the momentous Battle of Stalingrad, which took place between 1942 and 1943, and is widely viewed as one of World War II's most decisive battles. 
 
 The city adopted the name of Stalingrad in 1925 to honor Soviet leader Josef Stalin. In 1961, Stalin's successor, Nikita Khrushschev, changed the city's name to Volgograd in connection with the de-Stalinization process. 
 
 Following Putin's announcement, Russian political and spiritual leaders expressed support for a potential name change. 
 
 Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin tweeted on Friday that he "never doubted the necessity of a return to great Stalingrad's name" but insisted it would be done "not for the sake of Stalin but for that of Stalingraders." 
 
 Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin of the Moscow Patriarchate said on Sunday he would not object to a referendum on the city's name change, although he noted a preference for the name "Tsaryn," the city's appellation prior to 1925. 
 
 "The word 'Stalingrad' already lives independently of the word 'Stalin.' It is associated with a victory in a famous battle, with a part of our history," Chaplin said, Interfax reported. 
 
 Stalin's legacy, which encompasses both mass political repression and the defeat of Nazi Germany, remains a contentious issue in Russia to this day. ||||| Russian Human Rights ombudsman Ella Pamfilova is suggesting the renaming of Volgograd to Stalingrad, which is favored by veterans who met President Putin in Normandy, should be decided by the whole Russian people. 
 
 The issue was brought up by a group of Russian WWII veterans who met with President Vladimir Putin in Deauville, France, as part of the international D-Day celebrations. One of the elderly veterans asked if it was possible to rename the city of Volgograd back to Stalingrad. 
 
 Putin replied that the law says such questions need to be decided at the regional and municipal level. “In this case the city residents must hold a referendum and make a joint decision. We will do what the people say,” the Russian leader said. 
 
 The veterans are eager to go to Volgograd and as part of the campaign. The president also said that a square in Paris is named after Stalingrad. 
 
 On Monday Russian Human Rights ombudsman Ella Pamfilova commented that because of the nationwide importance of the Battle of Stalingrad, the issue of Volgograd's renaming should also be put to a nationwide referendum. She said it could be held on the all-Russia election day in September. In late 2012 a nationwide poll on the subject showed that about 60 percent of Russians oppose the return of Stalin’s name on maps. 
 
 Vladimir Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov also commented on Monday saying that Putin’s words should not be interpreted as supporting the renaming. “When he was answering the veterans’ question in Normandy Putin said that changing names of cities it was not within his powers. As he continued to answer the insistent veteran’s question, the President answered that he could not make such a decision himself and that there was a procedure – the question can be solved through a referendum.” The ITAR-TASS news agency quoted the Kremlin official as saying. 
 
 The head of the Russian Communists, Gennady Zyuganov, told reporters that he supported the idea of a referendum and immediately suggested to move further and hold a referendum on returning the name Leningrad to St. Petersburg. 
 
 The Issue of Volgograd returning to the name of Stalingrad is raised in Russian society on a regular basis – mostly by fringe left-wing politicians, veterans’ organizations and military history clubs. The discussion has become especially strong as the country readies to mark the 70th anniversary of victory in WWII. 
 
 In 2013 the Volgograd city legislature decided to use the name Stalingrad during the ceremonies dedicated to the anniversary of the Battle of Stalingrad – the event that is believed to have turned the course of the war and led to the defeat of the Nazis. 
 
 However, most leading government officials and political party leaders have been cautious, saying the decision must be made by Volgograd residents in the course of a referendum. Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in 2013 that the Kremlin administration was not supporting the renaming as it caused additional unnecessary expense and could start a chain of similar events that were not needed. 
 
 Founded in 1589 and originally named Tsaritsyn, Volgograd was renamed after Joseph Stalin in 1925. Its name was changed back in 1961 as part of the campaign against Stalin’s personality cult. ||||| Vladimir Putin has promised to help the city's residents vote on a name change after being asked by second world war veteran 
 
 For more than 300 years, the Russian city of Volgograd was known as Tsaritsyn. It was dubbed Stalingrad in honour of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin for a mere 26 years, but then his successor Nikita Khrushchev dropped that name as part of his campaign to dismantle the personality cult of the former dictator. 
 
 Now the city may become Stalingrad once again after president Vladimir Putin proposed holding a referendum to change the name amid a wave of second world war patriotism over eastern Ukraine. When asked by a Soviet veteran during D-day commemorations in Normandy on Friday, Putin promised to help the city's residents vote on bringing back the Stalingrad name. "It wasn't me who canceled that," Putin told the veterans. 
 
 On Sunday, Russian Orthodox church spokesman Vsevolod Chaplin also spoke out in favour of a referendum. "The word Stalingrad already has a life of its own, independent of the name Stalin. It's associated with the victory in a famous battle, with a certain part of our history," Chaplin said, news agency Interfax reported. 
 
 Several other prominent politicians, including deputy PM Dmitry Rogozin and Communist party leader and MP Gennady Zyuganov, were quick to put their weight behind the possible name change. But Putin's support is what is likely to move the initiative forward in Volgograd, which is one of Russia's largest cities with more than 1 million people. 
 
 Last year, several politicians called for a referendum on the name Stalingrad on the eve of the 70th anniversary of the battle there, which stopped the Nazi advance into the Soviet Union and stands as one of the bloodiest battles of all time, with an estimated 2 million total casualties. The Russian Citizens' Union turned in more than 50,000 signatures in favour of renaming the city, but local politicians and Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov both turned down the idea. 
 
 However, the Volgograd city council voted to use the name Stalingrad on nine annual holidays connected with the second world war. 
 
 But outside veterans and pensioners, few seem to support bringing back the war-era name. A poll by the independent Levada Centre in 2012 found that 18% of respondents were for renaming the city Stalingrad, but 60% were against the switch. Volgograd city council deputy Alexei Volotskov said three out of four residents asked in a local poll were against returning the name. 
 
 Over 20 million Soviet citizens are said to have died in the second world war, and the conflict has played a huge role in the national consciousness. But patriotism and reverence for the great victory has risen to new heights in recent years with the support of Putin and other politicians. Earlier this year, the liberal television station Dozhd was dropped by most major carriers under political pressure after it conducted a controversial on-air poll asking if the Soviets should have surrendered the besieged city of Leningrad to save lives. 
 
 Russian state television coverage of eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian rebels have been fighting for control with Kiev's forces, has portrayed the conflict as a struggle against fascism, dubiously comparing the new government in Kiev and Ukrainian nationalists with the Nazi invasion. Several rebel leaders have also portrayed their campaign as a continuation of the second world war.
– The city today called Volgograd, which with 1 million people is one of Russia's largest, has gone through several name changes in its recent past. For more than 300 years it carried on with the name Tsaritsyn, but after it became home to one of history's deadliest battles—2 million lives were lost when the Nazis tried to advance into the Soviet Union during World War II—then-Soviet leader Joseph Stalin decided to name it after himself. That lasted 26 years, at which point Stalin's successor, Nikita Khruschev, renamed the city Volgograd in an attempt to diminish the former dictator's posthumous reach. As if the saga wasn't confusing enough, as of last year the city began changing its name to Stalingrad some six times a year, the Moscow Times points out. Now, a 365-day change could be in reach. In response to an inquiry from a WWII vet on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested a referendum be held over the question of the city's name. The Guardian reports he promised to help the city see such a referendum take place, but RT notes that his press secretary today insisted that Putin wasn't coming out in support of the former name, but establishing that there's a "procedure" for arriving at such a decision. Only problem is, the locals don't appear to want the name change, at least according to a poll cited by the Guardian that found roughly 75% against it. (A town in Spain recently voted to change its offensive name.)