Moscow government discussing a possibility of creating a museum in the house where numerous victims of Stalin’s reprisals were shot
Press Release, 28.04.2015
The Moscow city government have been discussing the possibility of creating a museum in the house where numerous victims of Stalin’s reprisals were shot. Such a statement was made by Vladimir Filippov, Deputy Head of the Department of Culture of Moscow, in response to the appeal of Alexei Nesterenko, YABLOKO member.
The Moscow Department of Cultural Heritage held a meeting with the owners of the house, the Department of Culture, the Department of City Property and the Director of the State Museum of the GULAG History. The meeting was held because of numerous applications of citizens, representatives of public organisations and relatives of victims of political reprisals to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin and the Moscow City Government, runs the letter of the official.
In 2012, the Commission for City Development recognized the home an object of cultural heritage of regional significance.
“In 2013 the Department of Historical Heritage sated that a large memorial complex had to be created in the house, however, time passed buy nothing changed. Therefore, we will continue demanding that a museum must be created in this historic building at Nokolskaya 23,” said Alexei Nesterenko, who has been weekly picketing by the house since 2011 so that a museum should be created there.
In 1938, Alexei Nesterenko’s father was sentenced on false charges in this house and he was shot on the same day, his mother had to raise three children alone.
The building in Nikolskaya 23 housed the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court from early 1930s to late 1940s, the Collegium passed sentences on the “enemies of the nation”, overall repressive actions were taken against 31,000 people there.
Many famous people – the director Vsevolod Meyerhold, writers Isaac Babel and Boris Pilnyak, economist Nikolai Kondratyev, Marshals Mikhail Tukhachevsky and Alexander Yegorov and others were sentenced to death in this house in late 1930s.
YABLOKO has been collecting signatures in favour of creation of a museum in the building.
Posted: May 4th, 2015 under Overcoming Stalin's Legacy.