Muscovites Protest Placement of Giant <PERSON> Monument · Global Voices
A large number of Muscovites think the proposed location of a new <PERSON> statue could be a safety hazard. Image edited by <PERSON>.
Several hundred students and locals gathered at Moscow State University last weekend to protest the construction of a gigantic statue of 10th century ruler <PERSON> atop one of city's highest points.
Moscow's Sparrow Hills rise above the right bank of the Moskva River, abutting the Moscow State University campus, and are famed for offering a sweeping panoramic view of the Russian capital. If the Ministry of Culture and the Russian Orthodox Church have their way, the hills may also become known for an 82-foot-tall statue honoring a leading religious figure from Russian history.
<PERSON>, the grand prince of Kievan Rus who converted to Christianity on behalf of all of Russia in 988, has become a favored historical figure in recent years for a Kremlin increasingly close to the Russian Orthodox Chruch. Following Russia's annexation of Crimea, President <PERSON> stressed the peninsula's “sacral importance” to Russia as the place where Grand Prince <PERSON> was baptized before bringing Christianity to Rus. The Russian government plans to spend about $20 million commemorating <PERSON> this year, which is the thousand-year anniversary of his death, RBC has reported.
Планируемый памятник князю Владимиру. Высота памятника составит ~ 24,32 метра, общий вес монумента ~ около 330 тонн. 880
pic.twitter.com/n3r1EfEhPC
— ХитрыйЁж (@SlySlyHedgehog) May 28, 2015
The planned monument to <PERSON>. The height is 24.32 meters [about 80 feet], and the total weight is roughly 330 metric tons [more than 727,000 pounds].
Many Muscovites have balked at the idea of raising a towering statue of Prince <PERSON> atop Sparrow Hills, however. More than 64,000 have signed a petition calling on the city to cancel the project and organize the public selection of a more appropriate spot for the new statue.
The petition advances two primary concerns with the current plan. First, the petition argues that the statue would threaten public safety because Sparrow Hills is a geologically unstable area, and any major construction could cause landslides that would damage the surrounding area and injure anyone there. The petition also asserts that the project contradicts federal and regional legislation on the protection of cultural heritage, violates environmental laws, and neglects statutory procedures for the inclusion of local citizens in decision-making about urban planning.
The construction site for the statue, which appeared during the last week of May, has been the scene of numerous pickets and protests this summer. On June 5, a small crowd of students and locals who had gathered in opposition to the statue were joined by roughly the same number of Night Wolves bikers and orthodox activists from the group Forty by Forty in support of it.
At the protest, a Moscow State student opposed to the statue explained some of her camp's concerns to TV Rain, which also interviewed a Christian Orthodox activist who stressed the need to honor Russia's religious history (despite displaying a shaky understanding of it himself) while accusing all those opposed to the statue of being supporters of “homosexual rights.”
Many Muscovites have also picketed the construction site, including <PERSON>, a lawyer who works at <PERSON> Anti-Corruption Foundation. <PERSON> says she's also filed official statements with the relevant authorities about various legal violations associated with the construction.
Пока мы будем молчать – власть будет продолжать пилить #ЗащитимВоробьевыГоры pic.twitter. 880