Sergey Kirov - Legacy

Legacy

Kirov was buried in the Kremlin Wall necropolis in a state funeral, with Stalin personally carrying his coffin. Many cities, streets and factories took his name, including the cities of Kirov (formerly Vyatka), Kirovsk (Murmansk Oblast), Kirovograd (Kirovohrad in Ukrainian), Kirovabad (today Ganja, Azerbaijan) and Kirovakan (today Vanadzor, Armenia), the station Kirovskaya of the Moscow Metro (now Chistiye Prudy), Kirov Ballet, and the massive Kirov industrial plant in Saint Petersburg.

In the city of Kirov a speedskating match, the Priz Imeni S.M. Kirova, was named for him. This match is the longest enduring annual organised race in speedskating apart from the World Speed Skating Championships and the European Speed Skating Championships.

For many years, a huge statue of Kirov in granite and bronze dominated the panorama of the city of Baku. The monument was erected on a hill in 1939 and was dismantled in January 1992, after Azerbaijan gained its independence. The Kirov class of battlecruisers is named in his honor, though the first-of-class vessel originally named Kirov has since been renamed Admiral Ushakov.