Scoop indestructible

The celebration of the anniversary of Joseph Brodsky opened up old wounds of those yearning for the “iron hand”

Just before May Day, deputies of the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly took the initiative to return the article “for parasitism” to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Their impulse was picked up by patriotic citizens who remembered the case of the “parasite Brodsky.” Letters were sent to Smolny, to the St. Petersburg media, and to the foundation for the creation of the poet’s apartment museum, where the authors demand to stop the “squandering of budget funds” for the creation of the apartment museum.

“Bunks for parasites!” - the authors of the letter are indignant, not forgetting the painfully familiar words about “rootless cosmopolitans, renegades, traitors.” The letter has already reached the desks of the chairman of the Culture Committee and other officials, but none of them has yet given it any public assessment.

Retelling someone else's nonsense is a thankless task, so we quote:

“In connection with the initiative of the St. Petersburg parliament to return the punishment for parasitism to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the “National Committee +60” appeals to the chairman of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg, the head of the United Russia Makarov V.S. with a demand to immediately stop the squandering of budget funds allocated for the improvement of the museum named after the malicious parasite Brodsky I. A. This former citizen of the USSR, who became a seasoned fighter against the Soviet regime, led a parasitic lifestyle and was sentenced to 5 years under Article 209 “for parasitism”! Together with dissidents and renegades, US citizen Joseph Brodsky did everything for the collapse of the Great Country and, apparently, received a “Nobel Prize” as a reward for this!”

The letter was printed on the letterhead of the “Public National Committee for the preparation of the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Honorary Citizen of St. Petersburg V.V. Putin.” Vladimir Belozerskikh - a former deputy of the Legislative Assembly and his wife Maria Rusmilenko.

In a telephone conversation, Mr. Belozerskikh was even more eloquent. “Why is a museum being built for a US citizen using public money? – he rushed to attack. – I met with his employees in Kirillov’s ( vice-governor – ed. ) office, they told me that several tens of millions of budget money have already been spent on resettlement in the Muruzi House. Was he a US citizen? If we take the modern canons by which it is determined whether a person is a patriot or not, then he is a pure national traitor. Not a patriot, an American - and you know what people’s attitude towards Americans is now!”

Mikhail Milchik, chairman of the Brodsky Apartment Museum Foundation, told a Novaya correspondent that the authors of this text do not deserve attention and it is useless to discuss with them.

“This is complete nonsense, the city has not yet spent a penny from the budget on the future museum, everything is being done with sponsorship money,” said Mikhail Isaevich. – The city authorities helped find these sponsors, for which we need to thank them, but there is no money from the budget here. Banks, construction and investment companies helped us, we didn’t take a single ruble from the budget.”

One could ignore the libelous message of the married couple of “patriots”. But the letter was sent out at the end of April, and so far none of the officials and deputies have put the “patriot” in his place. Perhaps they are in a slight shock and have decided to put the brakes on this nonsense, and in order not to disgrace the cultural capital, quietly sweep the garbage under the rug.

Of course, there is a certain logic in such silence. However, some of the St. Petersburg deputies, for example, could not stand it and decided to fight the federal analogue of the Belozerskys - Sergei Kurginyan and his wall newspaper “The Essence of Time” (“Novaya” wrote how, with the connivance of officials, a newspaper with a very dubious view of the history of Russia began to be distributed in city schools) .

On May 18, deputies will discuss what to do with such a “publication” at a parliamentary commission. Maybe the Belozerskys should do the same - not pretend that he doesn’t exist, but put him in his place once? Explain where he is and where Brodsky is. And these days are nervous times, and certain viruses can be contagious.