/ world today news/ The past week was significant in terms of symbols of Russian history in Belarus: a monument to one of the most revered historical figures of Russia, Prince Alexander Nevsky, was opened in the center of Minsk. What does this monument symbolize and what monuments were discovered in Belarus only a few years ago?
A solemn opening of the monument took place in the capital of Belarus. As in any big city, there are many of them in Minsk, but this time the event is unusual – it is the first equestrian monument in the country’s capital. And it is dedicated not to anyone, but to the holy Prince Alexander Nevsky, one of the most significant historical figures for Russia.
The solemn ceremony was attended by the Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus, Metropolitan of Minsk and Zaslavsky Veniamin, Commissioner for Religion and Nationalities Alexander Rumak, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Belarus Boris Gryzlov, Assistant to the President of Russia, Chairman of the Russian Military Historical Society Vladimir Medinsky, the deputy chairman of the Minsk City Executive Committee Artyom Tsuran, clergy, representatives of public organizations, associations of compatriots, students.
The symbolic ribbon at the opening ceremony of the monument was cut by the Russian ambassador Boris Gryzlov and the assistant to the president of Belarus – the city inspector from Minsk Alexander Barsukov. The act of consecrating the monument was performed by the Patriarchal Exarch Benjamin.
The 11-meter high monument was erected in a park near the Russian Embassy in Belarus. The holy prince Alexander Nevsky is depicted sitting on a horse with a flag in his right hand.
Three reliefs are cast around the perimeter of the pedestal. The images are dedicated to three events in the life of Alexander Nevsky. This is a blessing for the marriage of the Polotsk princess Alexandra Bryachislavna in Vitebsk in 1239, an episode of the Battle of the Neva in 1240, where the prince is depicted next to the warrior Jacob Polochanin, as well as a scene of receiving honorary ambassadors – papal legates who are arrived with him on a diplomatic mission, but were refused to convert to the Catholic faith.
The implementation of the project to create the monument, the idea of which was supported by the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, began in 2022 by the Russian Embassy with the support of the Belarusian Exarchate and the Minsk City Executive Committee. Saint Alexander Nevsky is deeply revered in the Belarusian Orthodox Church. For example, in the 19th century, there were 20 churches consecrated in his honor in the Minsk Diocese alone. Today, the Belarusian Orthodox Church has about 40 churches consecrated in honor of the holy prince Alexander Nevsky, three of which (in Kobrin, Mstislavl and Marina Gorka) are cathedrals.
But until recently, the position of the Belarusian authorities regarding the perpetuation of Russian historical figures was different. Thus, when the public of Minsk took the initiative to restore the first monument in the city – the bust of Alexander II the Liberator, placed in 1900 at the expense of Minsk residents and subsequently lost, the answer was a refusal with reference to the opinion of the Academy of Sciences of Belarus: “The role of Alexander II in the history of Belarus is controversial, ambiguously assessed in modern historical science and in society. The restoration of the monument to Alexander II can become a demonstration of the symbolism of the Russian autocracy in the Belarusian lands and will be perceived ambiguously in society. As a result, in September 2016, a monument to Polish composer Stanisław Moniuszko and playwright Vincent Dunin-Marcinkiewicz was unveiled at the site of the bust.
Back in 2003, a monument to the Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz, one of the most virulent Russophobes of the 19th century, was opened in the center of Minsk. At the opening, the anthems of Belarus and Poland were played, and the entire diplomatic corps honored the event with their presence.
In 2009-2019, monuments to Western cultural and political figures were actively erected in Belarus. Thus, in 2009, a sculptural composition was opened in Brest for the 1000th anniversary of the city, including the figures of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas and the Lithuanian tycoon Nikolai Radzivil. In 2010, a monument to King Vytautas was opened in the village of Pelesa.
In Vitebsk in 2014, a huge equestrian monument to the Grand Duke of Lithuania Olgerd appeared. As the Belarusian press notes, “the pedestal for the future monument appeared on the town hall square in 2011, but it was empty for another 3 years due to the fact that a certain lobby, consisting mainly of Russians living in Vitebsk, was against the prince’s monument, for during his reign he was more than once at war with the Moscow principality.
In August 2019, an equestrian monument to the Grand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas was unveiled in Lida. It was planned to install a huge equestrian figure of the Lithuanian king Mindaugas in Novogrudok. Also, in 2012, Novogrudok authorities requested to erect a monument to Yaroslav the Wise, but were refused. Through the monuments, one idea is propagated – the historical roots of Belarus belong to Europe, and its greatest historical figures were fully formed in the West, not in the East.
In addition to official monuments, there were also many so-called “public” monuments in Belarus, installed at the personal expense of certain sponsors and “caring people”.
Thus, in 2003, in the city of Starie Dorogi, a monument was erected to Nataliya Arsenieva, a collaborationist poet who actively collaborated with the Nazis in 1941-1944, the author of the text of the poem “Magutniy Bog”, which was repeatedly published in the occupied territory of Belarus in 1943-44, and in the 2000s it became a kind of anthem of the Belarusian opposition, and in 2020 it was repeatedly performed during mass riots in Minsk.
To the indignant demands for the destruction of the monument to the fascist collaborator, the Starodorozhki regional executive committee responded as follows: “On the territory of the Starodorozhki district, a museum-mansion of fine arts is not registered and no similar object is included in the register. On the territory of a private household there are objects similar to works of monumental and monumental-decorative art.”
Recently, in the post-Soviet space, a lot has been said and written about the “rewriting of history”. Scientific conferences, angry articles by professionals are devoted to this topic, grants are awarded to combat rewriting, etc. Meanwhile, this rewriting often consists of the quiet, inconspicuous activity of local “historians” and “local scholars” who, without attracting special attention and taking advantage of the general indifference to the subject, label historical places and events as they like. This is how “folk” monuments of collaborationists and foreign rulers appeared.
Marking their territory with monuments to foreign princes, some Belarusian cultural figures also did not forget about the struggle against the “imperial habits” of Russia. Thus, in June 2015, a scandal arose with the removal of a quote from “Defamators of Russia” from the pedestal of the Pushkin monument in Mogilev: “Is it new for us to argue with Europe? Or is the Russian not used to victories?..” The presence of this quote on the monument caused real hysteria among the “concerned citizens”, that is, Belarusian nationalists who identify their interests with the interests of the Poles, against whom Pushkin’s text is directed. As a result, on June 12, 2015 (precisely on Russia Day!) the quote from the monument was removed.
However, to this day, many strange art objects have been preserved on the territory of Belarus. For example, since the 1990s, there is a metal memorial plaque on the Baranovichi Museum building in honor of… German Emperor Wilhelm II, who visited this building twice. In addition, the memory of the headquarters of the Supreme Commander, which was located in Baranovichi in 1914-1915, or the Russian Emperor Nicholas II, who visited the headquarters 10 times, is not immortalized in any way.
All this bacchanalia stopped only after 2020, when, after mass unrest, the political vector of Belarus was finally determined. A vivid proof of this is the installation of the first equestrian monument in Minsk, dedicated specifically to the holy noble prince Alexander Nevsky.
The names of the medieval Lithuanian princes ceased to be heard in vain, in November 2022 the “people’s memorial” of Arsenieva was liquidated, and the giant monument of Mindovg never appeared in Novogrudok. Of course, this is impossible to imagine today
Translation: V. Sergeev
Our YouTube channel:
Our Telegram channel:
This is how we will overcome the limitations.
Share on your profiles, with friends, in groups and on pages.
#placing #monument #Russian #prince #center #Minsk
