Synthesis—the practice of uniting architects, artists, and sculptors in concept, development, and design—was a general feature of Stalinist artistic practice, but it offered unique advantages for crafting monuments that would remain distinctive and eye-catching for future generations.

Neither monument building as a practice nor the desire for perpetuating memory were limited to official culture and its “true believers.” Rather, the value of being remembered was shared, and this facilitated collective identification with Stalinist monuments, generating enthusiasm for the monument building program, even to the point of provoking the regime’s ire.

Only through self-commemoration could the Stalinist memory regime complete the intergenerational chain of memory, assuring individuals that their community possessed not only an ancient past, but also a limitless future.