Activists Want to Build a Monument to Russia’s Most Famous Movie Gangster · Global Voices
Sergei Bodrov Jr. Source: Youtube.
Shortly after the EuroMaidan Revolution and the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014, <PERSON>, a 36-year-old video art director from Moscow, decided it was time to realize a long-held dream: to build a monument to <PERSON>, the actor who played <PERSON> in the Russian cult classic films Brat (1997) and Brat II (2000). With Russia supporting a separatist movement in eastern Ukraine and waging an aerial campaign in Syria, <PERSON> and the other founders of the “Brat Danila” project wanted to monumentalize <PERSON> and the vision of Russian power he has come to represent: “More than ever,” they write on their website, “we felt the need for a symbol of the protection of the [Russian] land and its people.”
Now, more than two years later, the project is beginning to take shape: since launching a crowdfunding campaign in June, Brat Danila has raised more than 300,000 rubles ($4,650), or around 85 percent of its 350,000-ruble goal. (This sum is only for the preparatory work on the statue; taking into consideration taxes and construction and mounting costs, the monument is expected to cost 2,685,000 rubles, or $41,622.)
The Brat Danila team wants to build a bronze statue in Moscow or St. Petersburg, where <PERSON> and <PERSON> were filmed, with the exact location to be determined by a poll conducted on the project's website and in cooperation with city officials. St. 880
Petersburg is currently leading the online poll by a wide margin.
The <PERSON> duology tells the story of <PERSON>, a Russian soldier who returns home after fighting in the First Chechen War and gets involved in St. Petersburg's violent criminal underworld. He quickly becomes one of the city's most feared killers, embodying the cutthroat attitude of the “wild west” world of 1990s Russian organized crime.
The <PERSON> films elevated <PERSON> to stardom, though his life and career were cut short in 2002, when he and 27 members of a film crew were killed in a landslide in the Caucasus Mountains. <PERSON> legacy grew after his tragic death, and <PERSON> remains one of the most famous movie characters in post-Soviet film: <PERSON> portrayal of <PERSON> epitomizes a kind of gangster machismo—one of power, honor, and loyalty—that occupies an important place in contemporary Russian masculinity.
The Brat Danila initiative comes amidst a broader effort by Russian authorities to monumentalize historical figures: a statue of <PERSON> was recently unveiled outside the Kremlin, and the city of Oryol erected a statue of <PERSON> in October. There are even plans to build a statue of <PERSON>, the inventor of the eponymous rifle.
Similarly, Brat Danila hopes their monument will “secure <PERSON>’s image as an important touchstone of patriotic culture” and “create a symbol that will help bring people together.” On the project's crowdfunding page, the Brat Danila founders write that they believe “<PERSON> will be able to unite our people and make a clear statement about [Russia’s] national idea.”
Аналогов российская культура не создавала более пятнадцати лет. Появившись на экране во время глубочайшего кризиса нашей страны, Данила стал настоящим примером и опорой для многих ребят того времени, росших без отца или старшего брата.
Russian culture hasn't created anything like him in 15 years. 880