In which cities there is a monument to Dzerzhinsky. Restoration of the monument to Dzerzhinsky at a historical place in Moscow

Only a few months have passed since the return of the monument to F. E. Dzerzhinsky to Lubyanka Square. There were a lot of opponents and supporters of such a decision of the authorities. In order to understand the reasons for such a violent social reaction, let's try to understand the role of the person of Iron Felix in the history of the USSR.

Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky: biography

The famous statesman of the Soviet era began his life in the family of a small nobleman - Eduard Iosifovich Dzerzhinsky, who serves as a teacher of the local gymnasium. The name of the Soviet commissar - Felix - is translated from Latin as "happy". And it was given to the child for the fact that his mother, falling a few days before birth through negligence in an open cellar, not only did not break herself, but also was able to protect her child from injuries.

The family of Dzerzhinsky lived not rich. After the head of the family died of tuberculosis in 1882, the mother had to single-handedly bring up nine children, the eldest of whom at that time was twelve years old, and the youngest one only a year and a half.

Despite all these difficulties, Felix Edmundovich had the opportunity to study at the Lithuanian gymnasium, where in 1895 he met with representatives of the Social-Democratic movement and joined the party. As for academic diligence, contemporaries evaluated the knowledge of the young man as mediocre. Thus, it follows from the documents that Dzerzhinsky stayed twice in the first grade and could not finish his studies, having received only a certificate of completion of the eighth grade. By the way, he had unsatisfactory marks in Russian and Greek.

However, failure to study did not interfere with successful underground activities. Since 1896, Dzerzhinsky has actively propagated among artisans and factory workers, for which he was repeatedly tried and sentenced to links and hard labor. Even in prison, Dzerzhinsky prepares for the October Revolution, organizes the first detachments of the Red Guard in Moscow, takes part in the meetings of the party. After the revolution, he occupies important posts in the Soviet government, becomes head of the detachments of the People's Commissariats (the People's Commissariat is the central authority in the union republics) and establishes the Cheka (All-Russian Extraordinary Commission for Combating Counter-Revolution and Sabotage).

Feliks Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky died of a heart attack caused by a nervous breakdown, during a speech at a meeting of the Central Committee, July 20, 1926.

Government Activities

Occupying state posts in the newly formed military government, Dzerzhinsky developed the same ebullient activity that was characteristic of the revolutionary during the years of underground activity. The figure of Iron Felix in the history of formation and organization of the Soviet Union is still ambiguous. And to this day it causes a lot of controversy.

Being appointed to the post of head of the Cheka, Felix Edmundovich proved to be a tough and cruel leader, mercilessly destroying any attempts at disobedience. It was during his reign in the Cheka that the policy of terror enters into a constant practice. It is no coincidence that the most terrible rumors and secrets will be associated with the activity of the Cheka much later in the West.

Dzerzhinsky believed that in the fight against the counter-revolution any measures, including mass terror, are permissible. It is he who is credited with the famous statement that the repression policy of the Cheka is extremely important and necessary, even if "its sword falls accidentally on the heads of the innocent". He actively spoke out against restrictions on the authority of the department, openly advocated the use of the most stringent measures against rebels.

At the same time, the name of the great "chekist" is associated with more creative activity. So, after the October Revolution, there are about five million street children on the streets, and it is under the direction of Dzerzhinsky that temporary boarding schools, children's homes and orphanages start building, where the children received all the necessary help and had the opportunity to study. Among the first people who came from such establishments were eight former homeless children who became academicians of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, and one of them, Nikolai Petrovich Dubin, went down in history as a world-famous geneticist.

Another aspect of Dzerzhinsky's political activity is his active participation in the sporting life of the country. Realizing that the employees of the law enforcement agency can not be without good sports uniform, it creates a DSO "Dynamo", which today is one of the most massive sports societies in Russia.

Felix Edmundovich took part in the economic development of the state. In the Supreme Economic Council he was engaged in the development of small private trade, tried to create favorable conditions for the development of peasant markets, and sought ways to reduce the cost of production.

Also, the revolutionary actively supported the policy of industrialization of the country. Under his leadership there is a single metallurgical complex, which has become one of the most advanced in the world. At the same time, Dzerzhinsky criticized the government and saw the Party's main mistake in concentrating on the military metal industry. In connection with the disagreement with this economic policy, he repeatedly asked for resignation.

Dzerzhinsky in art

The image of the indestructible Iron Felix was often used by writers and cinematographers. Images of a statesman were decorated with postage stamps. His activities were sung in the poems of Soviet authors and the recitations of the pioneers of the USSR, and his fate was told in a variety of bibliographical Roma. In addition, there are autobiographies written by Dzerzhinsky in different years, as well as a number of works devoted to the national security of the country. The ambiguous portrait of a revolutionary is also found in literary works-the memoirs of his contemporaries.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the name "great and terrible" also did not remain forgotten. During the years of perestroika, the story of one person from the story of the infallible hero of the Companion of the Revolution passed into the category of stories about a ruthless criminal and terrorist.

In the modern world, the debate about the significance of Dzerzhinsky's figure in the history of the USSR is also not abating, and his image continues to inspire contemporary poets and writers. So mention of Felix Edmundovich can be found in the works of such musical groups as "Lyapis Trubetskoy" and "Aquarium".

The settlements that are named after Dzerzhinsky

After his death, the name of FE Dzerzhinsky was given to a number of towns and villages in various republics of the Soviet Union. In honor of it were called higher educational institutions, squares, squares and parks, military units, factories and ships. The name of Iron Felix was assigned to the streets and schools. The famous Chekist was honored as the chief companion of the revolution and a loyal friend and companion of Lenin.

In modern Russia there are more than one dozen rural settlements named after Dzerzhinsky, in addition, in the Nizhny Novgorod and Moscow regions there are the same cities: Dzerzhinsk and Dzerzhinsky.

On the territory of the two post-Soviet republics - Belarus and Ukraine - there are also about forty different villages and towns, as well as several large cities named after the famous revolutionary. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, a number of attempts were made to rename or restore the original names of settlements, but the matter did not advance further than open discussions and several ballots.

Geographical features

In addition to cities and towns, the name of Dzerzhinsky is also a number of geographical objects. Thus, the highest point on the territory of modern Belarus is the mountain Dzerzhinsky. And in the Pamirs (a mountain system located in Central Asia at the junction of Tajikistan, China, Afghanistan and India), the summit of the Zaalaysky Range is called Dzerzhinsky Peak.

Monuments on the territory of the Russian Federation

Monuments and busts dedicated to the memory of the great figure of the revolution exist in a number of cities on the territory of the Russian Federation and in some CIS countries. So, one of the most famous is the monument to Dzerzhinsky in Volgograd, which was installed immediately after the death of Felix Edmundovich. Naturally, in the city, named in honor of this statesman, there is a monument on Dzerzhinsky Square. Even a certain pun is obtained: in Dzerzhinsk on Dzerzhinsky there is a monument to Dzerzhinsky. Samara also has a personal head of the Cheka, it is installed on the station square of the city. Other monuments and obelisks are located in Izhevsk, Ufa, Donetsk, Barnaul, Astrakhan and Penza.

Particular attention should be paid to the monument located in the city of Dzerzhinsky. The fact is that once there was one of the communes created especially for young street children. It was the natives of this educational institution, who later managed to "get out into people", and put on their own funds the first, then still gypsum, monument to the famous revolutionary. He was standing on the main square of the city right in front of the red commune, once the building of a local male monastery. However, gypsum is not very strong material, and so in autumn 2004 the monument finally collapsed. Then the city administration decided to restore the monument, but now it is made of bronze.

It is interesting that, unlike the monuments of the same Lenin, the monument to Dzerzhinsky in every city is different. Not only the clothes, the position of the hands and heads of Iron Felix change, but even the age of the revolutionary is different. Such an unusual feature for the Soviet school of sculpture can be caused by attempts to display different character traits and periods of Dzerzhinsky's life. After all, for Volgograd residents, Iron Felix is the famous Chekist and immortal leader of the NKVD, and in small Dzerzhinsky he is remembered and honored as the main benefactor who provided a happy and carefree childhood for several hundred Soviet communards.

Busts and monuments in the territory of the CIS countries

In the post-Soviet space of monuments to this statesman remained a little. Most of the sculptures and busts were dismantled in the early years of perestroika. The haste with which these measures were taken leads us to believe that the demolition of the monument to Dzerzhinsky is an indispensable ritual, vital for the transition to the era of "wild" capitalism.

Despite a series of pogroms, in some cities there are still references to the existence of Felix Edmundovich. Such "reminders" can be found in squares and parks of Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Transdniestrian Republic, Kyrgyzstan.

Let us note that in these countries the monument to Dzerzhinsky does not represent any particular cultural value. But no one wants to get rid of them. After all, it's still part of our history.

Demolition of the monument to Dzerzhinsky in Moscow

And now about the most important monument. The monument to Dzerzhinsky in Moscow was established on a historical and almost mystical place - the Lubyanka Square. It was located directly opposite the building itself, where in different years there were central offices of such power structures as KGB, MGB, NKVD, NKGB and OGPU USSR. Today the same place is occupied by the FSB of Russia. The sculpture was created by order of the party and Stalin's personal order, and the project of the future monument was developed by the famous sculptor Eugene Vuchetich at the time.

The sculpture stood on its law place until the putsch of 1991 , when an angry and disappointed crowd literally dared "satrap and tyrant" from his legal pedestal. In a situation of constant tension and unmotivated aggression, the demolition of the monument to Dzerzhinsky seemed the least of the problems facing the new government. She had enough trouble without it.

Therefore, when the monument to Dzerzhinsky was demolished from Lubyanka Square, the monument itself was simply removed and moved to the park area. After all the unrest connected with the transition from one state system to another has subsided, it turned out that most of the population of the city of Moscow does not feel with respect to the monument all that old hatred that was so widely broadcast on television screens and "poured" from the pages Russian and Western newspapers. About the monument and about the very role of personality in history, all of a sudden forgotten ...

Further destiny of the monument

As it was said before, after all the coups the Dzerzhinsky monument on the Lubyanka was dismantled and moved to a less significant place, namely the Moscow Art Park. Here he would have to stand until the end of time, but in 2013 the public again "stirred up" and made a new proposal. Now the demolition of the monument to Dzerzhinsky in Moscow seemed almost the most barbaric and senseless act for the entire period of perestroika.

The Russians insisted that, no matter how famous the Soviet leader was, forget about his role in the country's history. According to the results of sociological surveys, it was found out that about half of the metropolitan residents are advocating that the monument to Dzerzhinsky in Moscow be restored. Frankly against such an initiative, only about twenty-nine percent of respondents spoke, most of them were concerned not so much with the deserved re-erection of the monument as the cost of this operation.

However, the restoration of the monument to Dzerzhinsky was still held in 2014, after the monument survived the repeated dismantling and thorough reconstruction. The return of the monument to its rightful place was timed to coincide with the 137th anniversary of the birth of Felix Edmundovich. Thus, historical justice triumphed, got its former appearance and Lubyanka Square. The monument to Dzerzhinsky returned to his rightful place.

Opinion of experts: the votes for and against

At a time when the All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion conducted a survey of the population about whether they wanted to restore the monument to Dzerzhinsky, among other things, the opinion of Russians about the personality of the revolutionary was also analyzed.

It turned out that most of the respondents (about seventy-nine percent) are familiar with the history and activity of Iron Felix, while forty-seven percent of the respondents approached him and his actions approvingly. At the same time, every third Russian expressed the idea that, despite disagreements over the methods used, the activities of the famous Chekist deserve respect. Another twenty-six percent of the respondents said that the monument on Dzerzhinsky Square should be, although they do not feel any strong emotions in relation to this person. Summing up all of the above, we can note that, in general, modern society is neutral-positive towards this historical figure.

However, after the monument to Dzerzhinsky on the Lubyanka was returned to its place, expert opinions of opponents of such a sharp change also appeared.

So, for example, the negative opinion was expressed by independent journalist Konstantin Eggert. He believes that the monument to Dzerzhinsky does not deserve such honors. A similar opinion is shared by other representatives of the modern intelligentsia. According to them, this monument, like Lenin's Mausoleum on Red Square, is the remnants of the past epoch, which are committed senselessly and absolutely undeservedly continue their life in modern Russia. Moreover, for many it became an unpleasant discovery that the monuments to the victims of the NKVD repressions and their main torturer were installed (or reinstalled) at intervals of several months. Such a "duality", according to many, borders on duplicity. And nothing good can bring society can not.

On the other hand, a number of experts who positively assessed the return of the monument to its former place, note that this was necessary primarily for the society not to forget about its history and its heritage. Silence of real facts, they say, will only lead to a repetition of past mistakes.