Back to the Future.

A decade ago, after the Soviet collapse, Russia rushed to liberate itself from the namesakes of fallen idols. Leningrad became St. Petersburg, Gorky became Nizhny Novgorod. But today, in the river city of Volgograd, scene of one of the most momentous battles of World War II, the winds of change seem to be blowing the opposite way. "Volgograd? This is Stalingrad," says activist Zinaida Chistyakova. "We want our name back."

Commentators have noted the signs of a symbolic Soviet renaissance across Russia. President Vladimir Putin has already reinstated the Soviet anthem, with new words. The Defense Ministry has suggest-ed restoring the Soviet red star on military flags. Muscovites have considered returning Felix Dzherzhinsky, the dread founder of the secret police, to his pedestal in the square opposite the former KGB headquarters. But Stalin, the dictator who slaughtered tens of millions of Russians?

The controversial proposal to change the name of their city back to Stalingrad is spear-headed by a dwindling group of Volgograd veterans who helped turn back an attacking Nazi Army 60 years ago next month. More than 1 million Soviet soldiers and hundreds of thousands of German soldiers died in the six-month battle. "We were hungry and cold, the city was on fire," recalls 81-year-old veteran Zoya Kabanova. "There were a lot of tears and so many deaths. But we defended this city. That is why Stalingrad is dear to us." The city was renamed after Stalin's death in 1953, once the crimes of his regime were finally exposed.

The rehabilitation of Stalin says much about how the chaos of post- Soviet reforms has inspired nostalgia for the orderly ways of the ...