The Krasnoyarsk Communists were busily picketing during the past week. As usual, they lined up on Revolution Square. In fact, they did not require any revolution – they rather required Stalin; in the sense of attracting the attention of the public to the possibility of raising a statue to the honour of just that man. The statue for the leader has already been completed; it was financed by funds mobilized by citizens. The only remaining problem is how to come to terms with the authorities regarding the place of raising. Although all super-ordinate authorities – the mayor, as well as the governor and the majority of deputies of the legislative assembly – declared themselves against a statue, the matter does not seem to come to an end – the story has been going on since the spring.
One may say that the opportunity for the most favourable decisive moment was missed. Of course, the raising of the statue on the eve of Victory Day would have been the least bitter moment. One would have been willing to forgive the commander in chief many of his deeds. One would certainly have consoled the human rights’ activists by explaining them that the statue was not dedicated to the „tyrant of the year 1937“, but to the „triumphator of the year 1945“. And many did not have to be comforted at all. For we do already have a Lenin statue and one showing Nikolaus II. And in the eyes of the majority of the population Stalin does not evoke more doubts than these two historic personalities do.
Let us recall that there has already been a previous attempt to raise a Stalin bust, and what a strange attempt it was! The leading head of the Krasnoyarsk town committee of the RF Communist Party, comrade Bedarev, determined (as per agreement with some other comrades) the territory attached to the Museum of Local Lore a suitable place to raise the bust. They employees of the museum were shocked and opposed. A few hours later the bust was transported away. A sign-in had been carried through shortly before; many citizens gave their signatures against the bust, many signed later.
There was an interesting reaction to the article „The Stalinist bloc in Krasnoyarsk“. One thing became obvious: the people’s attitude towards the Communist Party of the RF is mere contempt. Radical Communists insult our „rose-coloured“ because of their half-heartedness and their assumptuous doings. According to an official statement of the radicals, the statue could have been raised since long – easily, without any problems and even in two different ways. They could either have purchased an area, „2 x 2 meters in size“, which would then be „private property“. They could have raised the statue there, just following the motto: „ This area is my property, here I can do what I want to!“ To protect the bust from evil, they would certainly have organized an around-the-clock guard duty recruited from members of the Young Communists’ League; fortunately there are enough people who would be willing to do this kind of job. The second possibility is a more courageous and daring one, but, in principle, one could have proceeded in this way. On the eve of Victory Day they could have raised the statue illegally, but under an increased control of guards, whose task would have been to protect the bust from destruction by private citizens (two members of the Komsomol, Seleznev and Burlak, razed „Memorial’s“ sign-in to the ground!). Not from the OMON (special-purpose unit of the militia; translator’s note). Just on the very eve of Victory Day, however, there was more than a slight hope that the authorities would not raise a scandal. They would probably act reasonably and simply decide to „apply the brakes“
As for the Communist Party of the RF, the newspaper „Pro Stalin“ did not hesitate to issue the following sentence: „It is not necessary at all to grasp at Stalin with paws which are greasy and dammy of fear!“ They promised to gain the victory and raise a monument, one-hundred meters in height, to the generalissimo’s honour. And this monument will be raised at the highest point of the Torgashinsk mountain ridge“.
Aleksander Silaev
Krasnoyarsk Evening Paper, 27.07.05