Press Release, 27.07.2015

The Prosecutor’s Office of the Soviet district of Lipetsk issued a note of admonition to Anna Shamayeva, Deputy City Mayor, pointing out the inadmissibility of violation of the law, as the bust sculpture to Joseph Stalin unlawfully installed by the Communist Party had not been removed. This was stated in the answer of Mikhail Makeyev, District Public Prosecutor, forwarded to YABLOKO leader Sergei Mitrokhin.

Sergei Mitrokhin had demanded dismantling of the monument to Joseph Stalin in Lipetsk and bringing to justice the Communist Party in accordance with Article 19.1 of the Code of Administrative Offences “Arbitrary Actions” for installation of the monument.

The Lipetsk branch of the Communist Party installed a sculpture bust of Stalin on the day of the 70th anniversary of Victory in the World War II in Kuznechnaya street in Lipetsk, violating the provisions in force in the city “On perpetuating the memory of outstanding personalities and important events”. According to this document, only the Lipetsk City Council can adopt a decision on installation of any memorable signs in the city, otherwise the memorial sign has to be removed.

Public Prosecutor’s letter also ran that the city commission on memorable signs recommended to the Communist Party to install the bust sculpture in the office of their regional branch, however, the Communist Party stalled the bust in a city street. In view of this, several notifications on dismantling of the sculpture were sent to leader of the Lipetsk branch of the Communist Party Nikolai Razvorotnev.

Deputy head of the city administration Anna Shamayeva reported that the city authorities had sent an application to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in the Lipetsk region to institute administrative proceedings against the regional branch of the Communist Party and demanded to dismantle the monument. The file was sent to the Public Prosecutor. But yet the sculpture bust of Stalin has not been demolished. According to the administration, this issue must be resolved in court.

According to Sergei Mitrokhin, the administration had sufficient proxies to dismantle the illegally installed a monument, “in fact, they play on the side of the Communist Party, resorting to statements only,” he said.

In addition, Sergei Mitrokhin’s letter ran that the installation of the monument had violated the rules Article 36 of the Housing Code. The city administration recommended to the owners of the premises located in a building at the address Kuznechnaya 12 to apply to court with a law suit against the Communist Party.

“Perpetuating of the memory of a state criminal in the public space in Russia represents an insult to the memory of victims of Stalin’s reprisals, not only justification of his crimes, but also creation of conditions for their repetition. Praising, symbolic rehabilitation and idealization of Stalin and his regime is the way to dictatorship, reprisals and the new totalitarianism, a system where human life and human rights have no value,” runs the statement the YABLOKO Bureau.