YABLOKO protests against installation of a monument to Ivan the Terrible in Orel
Press release, 19.07.2016
YABLOKO activists participated in a picket against the installation of a monument to Tsar Ivan the Terrible in the city of Orel 350km south of Moscow. Over 60 people took part in the action. Leader of the local party branch Sergei Zaytsev was one of the organizers of the protest action.
“We do not need a monument to a tyrant”, said the placards of the protesters.
The City Hall plans to install the monument to celebrate the 450th anniversary of the city’s founding. It will be installed next to the theatre for children and youth. The activists claim that the monument will close the front of the historical building. Moreover, the area near the theatre is also part of the cultural site, so it is illegal to place a monument there. The public hearings on the installation of the monumemt to Ivan the Terrible were not held.
The City Hall tried to sabotage the meeting, putting a fence around the territory.
The grandson of Ivan the Great, Ivan the Terrible, or Ivan IV, acquired vast amounts of land during his long reign (1533-1584), an era marked by the conquest of the khanates of Kazan, Astrakhan and Siberia. Ivan the Terrible created a centrally controlled Russian state, imposed by military dominance. Many believe him to have been mentally ill. One of his violent outbursts was perhaps the reason for his son’s death.
Posted: July 21st, 2016 under History.