Applicants for the throne

In Novosibirsk, the initiative group for the installation of the bust of Joseph Stalin turned to the prosecutor's office and to the city authorities demanding to demolish the monument to Nikolai II and Tsarevich Alexei. This is reported by Interfax.

Stalinists believe that the monument to the emperor is erected with violations. The located Cathedral of Alexander Nevsky is an object of cultural heritage of regional significance under the law for the placement of monuments in the territory of such objects, it is necessary to conduct a state historical and cultural examination and coordination with the regional department for state protection of cultural heritage objects. The monument to Nicholas II was also not agreed on the art council of Novosibirsk.

“In addition, the land plot on which the monument was erected, as we found out, according to the unified state register of real estate, is the property of the Novosibirsk region, that is, the state, and not the private property of the religious organization, which was stated by the mayor Anatoly Lokot, commenting on allegedly the lawful actions of the Metropolitan of the Russian Orthodox Church,” the initiative group said.

"Thus, the monument to Nicholas II was established without passing the approval procedures provided for by the law. Therefore, the monument is subject to demolition as an unauthorized structure. The installation of the monument to Nicholas II creates a legal precedent that gives us the full right to act in a similar way - to erect a monument to Stalin without agreement in the city center," the report said.

In September last year, the art council of Novosibirsk refused to support the project of the installation of a bust of Stalin in the square of the heroes of the revolution near the Mary. For the installation of the monument, not a single member of the council voted, about half spoke out against, several people abstained. The historian and local historian, an employee of the Museum of the city of Novosibirsk, Konstantin Golodyaev said that moral responsibility lies on the members of the artistic council. "130 thousand people were shot in Siberia, only 11 thousand repressed are living in Novosibirsk," he said.

The initiators of the installation of the bust said the funds for the creation and installation of the monument have already been raised. They were donated by residents of Novosibirsk. A bronze or concrete monument on a granite pedestal is planned 2.7 meters high.

The monument to Nicholas II and Alexei was opened in the city on July 16 at the initiative of the Novosibirsk Metropolis of the Russian Orthodox Church on the 99th anniversary of the execution of the royal family.

On the night of August 1, a 32-year-old resident of Novosibirsk hit the monument several times with an ax . The head of the statue of the heir was damaged. The man was detained and delivered to the police passing by an outfit of corrugated security. The police opened against the detainee the case under part 1 of Article 214 of the Criminal Code (vandalism), which provides for up to three months of arrest. The suspect refused to testify.