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| Pushkin is to blame: what many Latvians think about, but are afraid to say out loud |
| 2023-03-13 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. [REGNUM] Last year, 70 monuments to Soviet soldiers were demolished in Latvia. A running flywheel is difficult to stop, and the fighters against the "occupation legacy" now need new facilities on which they can vent their hatred. Since the monuments to Soviet soldiers ended, it was the turn of the monuments to other "occupation figures". In particular, it was decided to remove the monument to the great poet Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin from its former place in Riga. ADEPT OF "RUSSIAN IMPERIALISM" The demolition of monuments to Soviet soldiers was a moral blow to the Russian community in Latvia. The Russian Latvians, already demoralized, tried to protest, to protect the monuments dear to them, but the forces turned out to be too unequal. And after the majestic memorial complex to the Liberators was demolished in Riga in August last year, the main sacred place for the Russians of Latvia moved to Kronvalda Park, where there is a monument to Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin. Pushkin will not be touched, people thought. People were wrong... The monument to Pushkin appeared in the capital of Latvia already in modern times. This monument by the sculptor Alexander Taratynov was erected in Riga in August 2009, on the occasion of the 210th anniversary of the poet's birth. The initiative was carried out with the support of the Riga organization "House of Moscow" (forced closed last year) and the Pushkin Society of Latvia. “The great Russian poet Pushkin is the bearer of the ideas of freedom, justice and democracy. I hope these ideas will come to life, and such a friendship will reign between Russia and Latvia that no one can break ,” said Russian Ambassador to Latvia Alexander Veshnyakov at the monument installation ceremony . A number of representatives of the Latvian intelligentsia then signed a collective appeal in which they spoke out against the installation of the monument in the Kronvalda park. Then they were not listened to, and since then this monument, located in the center of Riga, has been the object of hatred of local nationalists who consider Pushkin a "Russian chauvinist." In recent years, the monument has been attacked several times by vandals - they sawed off the cane held by the bronze Pushkin, doused it with paint and threw flowers brought by the poet's admirers into a nearby canal. In 2020, Latvian professor Sandra Veinberga said that the monument to Pushkin had no place in Riga, since, they say, in his life he had nothing to do with this city. And last fall, a petition appeared in the public space, which was prepared by a Latvian named Moritss Nils Mengelsonos . He called for "cleansing the public space of Riga of the last remaining symbols of Russian imperialism." According to Mengelsonos, the Russian embassy uses the monument to Pushkin "as a tool of soft power and propaganda." The author of the petition accused Pushkin of always being a chauvinist and imperialist. “In his works, Pushkin supported the attack of the Russian Empire on the Caucasus and the genocide of its inhabitants. Ukraine, as well as the Baltic countries, which at that time were part of the Russian Empire, he called in his works "little Russia". Is there a need for a monument to such a person in the center of Riga? I call on the Riga City Council to dismantle and remove the monument to Alexander Pushkin and liberate Riga from the remnants of imperialism, as is now happening in many cities of Ukraine ,” Mengelsonos urged. Mengelsonos found a sufficient number of supporters who began to sign the petition, and, in the end, she got to the leadership of the Riga self-government. In early March, Natalia Abola, a deputy of the Moscow City Council from the Honor to Serve Riga party, announced that Vice Mayor Linda Ozola (deputy bloc Code for Riga) asked to include the issue of objects “glorifying the totalitarian regime” on the agenda and adopt the decision to dismantle them or move them to "publicly inaccessible closed spaces" . The leadership of the Duma included monuments to the world-famous Soviet scientist, a native of Riga, Mstislav Keldysh, the Russian military leader Mikhail Bogdanovich Barclay de Tolly (his ancestors lived in Riga) and, finally, the "cult personality of Russian imperialism" Alexander Pushkin. By posting this message, Abola scolded the Russian voter for the passivity shown by him in the summer of 2020 during the municipal elections in Riga. “You don’t need to tell me that your electoral vote means nothing: the apathy of Russian voters in the elections to the Riga City Council led to the fact that Pushkin became a “cult personality of Russian imperialism,” the deputy noted. The information posted by her aroused the indignation of representatives of the local Russian community, but the launched process was already underway. On March 5, the Riga Municipal Council for Monuments issued a recommendation: for now, Barclay should be left in the same place, Keldysh should be dismantled, and Pushkin should be moved to another place, out of sight, to the courtyard of the Ave Sol concert hall. This decision still needs to be approved at a general meeting of the Riga City Council, but Abola has no doubts that the process will pass without much difficulty. “WHAT MANY LATVIANS THINK BUT ARE AFRAID TO SAY OUT LOUD” The poetess Liana Langa , who is an ardent supporter of the "de-Russification" of Latvia and the complete exclusion of the Russian language and culture from all spheres of state life, explained the position of the Latvian nationalists on Pushkin. "Signs of Russian imperial politics, such as monuments to Alexander Pushkin, which mark the territories of cultural influence of Russian “soft power”, keeping them in the status of a temporary hybrid occupation, are not needed in Latvia. This was also understood in Ukraine, so the monuments to Alexander Pushkin were dismantled there. Objectively, Alexander Pushkin has no historical connection with Latvia, except for the fact that Anna Kern once lived in Latvia," Langa said. However, in Latvia there were many people who disagreed with this position. Pushkin's fans organized a flash mob in social networks - they began to post their favorite poems from his legacy on their pages in large numbers. Moreover, which is typical, among the protesters there were quite a few Latvians who were indignant at the attitude towards the great poet that the authorities of Riga demonstrate. Their opinion was expressed by the actor Gundars Āboliņš . He ironically wrote on the social network: “In order to stay on the “progressive wave”, I propose to demolish the building of the Latvian Opera House, as it was built during the time of the Russian Empire and therefore reminds of its inhuman greatness!” Following this, Abolins mentioned a long list of outstanding buildings and entire streets built during the time of the Russian Empire. All this, according to the logic of the fighters against hybrid aggression and Russia's "soft power," should be demolished. “It should also be announced that Lacplesis is no longer an epic of the Latvian people, because it was composed by an officer of the Russian army Andrejs Pumpurs ,” Abolins adds. He also urged to “explain” one of the “fathers” of the Latvian national awakening, folklorist and writer Krišjānis Barons – after all, he lived in Moscow and St. Petersburg for a long time, at one time he worked in the Russian Ministry of Public Education. In support of Abolins, a well-known businessman in the country, politician, ex-deputy prime minister, head of the parliamentary party "Latvia in the first place" Ainars Shlesers vigorously spoke out . “Thanks to Gundars Abolins for the courage to say what many Latvians think but are afraid to say out loud. They are afraid that the so-called “patriots” of Latvia will call them traitors, Kremlinists and Putinists ,” Slesers wrote on the social network. And he also posted a video on which he reads in Russian: “Lukomorye has a green oak ...” "HANDS OFF!" Ainars Slesers addressed directly to the mayor of Riga, Martins Stakis : “Dear Mr. Stakis, will the demolition of the monument to Pushkin in Riga really change something for the benefit of the people of Riga? Do you definitely have no other priorities in Riga, except to demolish the monument to Pushkin? I urge you to deal with really important problems for the city, and not divert attention from your failures by demolishing the monument to the poet Pushkin. It should be noted that these days the mayor of Riga was engaged in a really very important, from his point of view, business: he took part in the opening ceremony of a gay club that opened its doors to lovers of same-sex love on Aristida Briana Street. “Here you can feel safe - no one will judge you, will not tell you how to lead, whom to love, with whom to be together,” the mayor of Riga said at the opening of the institution, promising that he would “look here again” ... Influential businessman Valdis Kalnozols (a former member of parliament who repeatedly appeared on the lists of Latvian millionaires, a man known for his harsh criticism of the authorities) tried to defend Pushkin from attacks, appealing to the fashionable tolerance in the West. "If people know at least a little history, then the monument to Pushkin is more a symbol of modern racial tolerance than something hated. Pushkin's great-grandfather Abram Gannibal was a Russian military engineer of African origin," Kalnozols recalled. In turn, the well-known journalist Sandris Tochs spoke briefly: “Hands off the monument to Pushkin!” Opponents of the transfer of the monument announced a rally in his defense. Some, however, immediately began to express skepticism: they say that nothing depends on us, if they want to remove the monument, they will. Such skeptics are rebuffed. “Dear friends… I’ll try to be a little more gentle… Maybe it’s enough to be clever about external management in Latvia, about the fact that Pushkin is doomed, that everything is useless, and other garbage… Perhaps this is one of the last chances to defend not only a monument to the poet, but also your future life. March 12, at 13.00. Town Hall Square," writes, for example, blogger Alexei Gulenko . The authorities in Riga obviously did not expect such active opposition - they hesitated. Mayor Stakis suddenly declared that now the most important issue for the self-government of the capital is the adoption of the budget for this year, and not the dismantling of monuments. Stakis stressed that "monuments that glorified the occupation within the city have already been dismantled" , and decisions on other monuments "will not be made quickly or under the influence of emotions." The mayor added that the municipal council for monuments is an advisory body, mostly composed of experts, not local government deputies, and is authorized to make only “ recommendatory decisions.” Stakis promised that the Duma would still weigh "all arguments and opinions" . The mayor added: “The self-government will take into account that opinions on the transfer of monuments differed, there was no consensus. Therefore, the discussion on this issue has not ended, but only begun. So there is some possibility that the monument to Pushkin will still be left in its original place. Well, if the monument is really left alone, it will be the first victory for the fighters against legalized vandalism in Latvia in a long time ... March 12, 2023 Viktor Lavrinenko |
| Posted by:badanov |