After a nearly six-decade absence, the face of Joseph Stalin, the Soviet dictator who was not known for sparing lives to achieve his goals, is once again greeting commuters in one of Moscow’s ornate subway stations.

A new statue was unveiled by the authorities this month, showing Stalin gazing sagely into the distance, flanked by adoring workers and children holding out flowers to him. A replica of one that was removed in 1966 during a de-Stalinization campaign, the new relief quickly became an attraction, with people leaving flowers, stopping to pose for pictures, including with their children, or just watching pensively.

The sculpture is part of the gradual rehabilitation of a brutal leader who still has the power to divide Russians, 72 years after his death. The Kremlin has revived parts of his legacy in its effort to recast Russia’s history as a series of glorious triumphs that it is determined to continue in Ukraine.

Among those admiring the work on a recent visit was Liliya A. Medvedeva, who said she was “very happy that our leader got restored.”

“We won the war thanks to him,” said Ms. Medvedeva, a pensioner born in 1950, adding that she was grateful that Stalin didn’t send her father to the Gulag even though he was taken prisoner during World War II — something that was equated with treason at the time. “Yes, there were many mistakes, but everybody makes mistakes.”

In a country where criticizing government action can be dangerous, it is unclear how many people disagree with Ms. Medvedeva’s positive view, but some are dismayed, even enraged, by what they see as revisionist whitewashing of history.