Media: The priest who died in Derbent was one of the prototypes of the monument to interreligious friendship

The 66-year-old priest Nikolai Kotelnikov, who died as a result of attacks in Dagestan, was the prototype for the “Monument to the Friendship of Three Religions” erected in Derbent.

Kotelnikov was the rector of the Church of the Intercession of the Holy Mother of God. The fact that the priest served as a prototype for the monument was reported by the special correspondent of the Spas TV channel Alexander Egortsev. In addition, the author of the Telegram channel "Orthodoxy and Zombies" Ksenia Luchenko spoke about this.

The monument was unveiled in 2019 and is located in the city center. The sculpture consists of figures of an imam, a priest, and a rabbi sitting together at a tea table. As Novaya Gazeta notes , the Orthodox Pokrovsky Church, an Armenian church, a mosque, and a synagogue are located near the sculpture.

As GTRK Dagestan writes , at the time of the attack Kotelnikov was holding a service in honor of the Holy Trinity holiday. At the same time, Mediazona, citing Kotelnikov's son-in-law, priest Sergiy Abasov, claims that Kotelnikov had not held a service for several years. According to the publication, he was in a house near the church with his wife.

Izvestia, citing Kotelnikov's widow, claims that the priest was shot by attackers who allegedly confused the Holy Protection Church in Derbent with the Holy Dormition Church in Makhachkala. On June 23, the head of the Dagestan POC, Shamil Khadulaev, wrote that the priest's throat was cut.

The attack in Dagestanoccurred on the evening of June 23. The attackers fired at a traffic police post in Makhachkala and an Orthodox church and synagogue in Derbent. A shootout followed in the village of Sergokala near Derbent. The following day, the Investigative Committee announced that it had identified five of the militants. All were killed in the attack.

The shootings left 20 people dead , including security forces and civilians. Another 46 people were injured. According to Dagestan Health Minister Tatyana Belyaeva, seven of them are in serious condition.

In addition, several men were detained in Pyatigorsk for dancing the lezginka on the street. Local mayor Dmitry Voroshilov, in light of the attack, considered their behavior "outrageous."

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