Statue of one of feared KGB “fathers” sparks political fight in Moscow

Far from the controversy that its name provokes, in a passageway of the Muzeon park of Moscow, the statue of Félix Dzerzhinski, the father of the Bolshevik secret police, the dreaded Cheka, predecessor of KGB. On a high pedestal, the slender bronze figure, with the penetrating gaze, the haughty head and the eternal goat, seems to be patiently waiting if this time it is returned to its former location, on Lubyanka Square, from where it has come was withdrawn in 1991, the year the USSR disappeared and changed the world.

Now, a group of politicians, writers and bloggers with a nationalist-patriotic tendency have asked the mayor’s office of the Russian capital to reinstall the monument in its original place, in front of the historic KGB headquarters (today ‘ hui FSB).

In the letter, signed among others by the writer Zajar Prilepin, leader of the For the Truth party, and Alexander Projánov, director of the daily Zavtra, the diversity of opinions about the character historical, but the architectural value of the man of bronze stands out.

“From its installation in 1958 in the center of Lubyanka Square, the work of the brilliant monumentalist Yevgueni Vuchétich and the architect Grigori Zajárov succeeded in integrating it into the historical and cultural landscape of our capital”, they explain in the petition. .

“Félix Dzerzhinski continues to be a controversial figure for part of our society. But the monument of Vuchétich and Zajárov is absolutely indisputable as a reminder of the great era of revolutions, ”they say.

Controversial figure

Like many other statues of Communist leaders, that of Felix iron he was overthrown in August 1991, after the failed coup against Mikhail Gorbachev and a few months after the end of the Soviet Union. One of the best-known images of perestroika is the moment when protesters lower her figure, with a long coat to her feet and 15 tons of weight, by means of a crane. Many others have also fallen, from Stalin, Lenin, Brezhnev or Kalinin. In Moscow, the authorities decided to relocate them to the Muzeon.

That the figure of the person responsible for the red terror is controversial almost a century after his death (1926) is reflected in the polls. One of the State Centers for Public Opinion Studies (VTSIOM) reported in 2013 that 46% of the population would choose to return the monument to Lubianka, while 25% voted against.

Two years later, the memory of Félix de Hierro was again subject of public discussion when the Communist Party called for a referendum, it was accepted. But before presenting the necessary signatures, he withdrew the initiative. The United Russia party proposed transforming the square into a pedestrian zone and placing a fountain there, like the one that existed before 1958. The idea was accepted by 56%, in a VTSIOM poll, against 37% who called for the return by Dzerzhinsky.

Rejection of human rights organizations

Human rights organizations have always opposed the return of the statue to Lubyanka, called Place Dzerzhinsky between 1926 and 1991. “Who puts monuments to executioners?” they asked. But this time they also showed their opposition to power. Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesman, said the proposal was a provocation.

Valeri Fadéiev, president of the Human Rights Council attached to the Russian presidency, rejects the request to divide the company. “The proponents say that the square is empty, that it lacks a dominant element. And they add that the monument is good. That is true. But we are not talking about architectural solutions, but about political aspects, ”said Fadéiev.

If you accept the proposal, “it will become an insult to people, since many associate Dzerzhinsky with the worst aspects of the Soviet regime, ”explained in the electronic Vzgliad.

Mikhail Shvidkoi, representative of the Russian president for international cultural cooperation, intervened in the controversy this week. A consensus figure should be placed in Lubyanka, he stressed.

“This question must contribute to the consolidation of society and not create another fight,” he told the Moscow Social Council, an advisory body. Its vice-president, Alexei Venediktov, proposed an online referendum this includes other historical figures. The decision would rest with the Moscow Assembly.

Whether the controversy is resolved or not, Félix Dzerzhinski, that of Muzeon Park, will remain for the moment in the place that history has given him.

By Gonzalo Aragonés, correspondent for La Vanguardia in Moscow

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