Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06MINSK572
2006-06-01 12:52:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Minsk
Cable title:  

Another Monument to a Repressor

Tags:  PGOV PHUM ECON BO 
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VZCZCXRO4625
RR RUEHAST
DE RUEHSK #0572 1521252
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 011252Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY MINSK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4484
INFO RUCNOSC/ORGANIZATION FOR SECURITY COOPERATION IN EUROPE
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
UNCLAS MINSK 000572 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM ECON BO
SUBJECT: Another Monument to a Repressor

UNCLAS MINSK 000572

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM ECON BO
SUBJECT: Another Monument to a Repressor


1. (U) On May 26, authorities unveiled a statue of Felix
Dzerzhinsky on the grounds of Belarus' Military Academy.
The 10.5-foot bronze statue is identical to the one that
for years stood in front of the KGB's infamous Moscow
headquarters, the Lubyanka, and was the first icon
removed by demonstrators in 1991 after the fall of the
Soviet Union.


2. (U) Known as "Iron Felix," Dzerzhinsky, who was born
in what is now Belarus, played an active role in the
1917 Bolshevik Coup and founded the All-Russian
Extraordinary Commission for Combating Counter-
Revolution and Sabotage (Cheka)--the most feared Soviet
agency known for abductions, torture, and massacres.
The Cheka later developed into the NKVD and later the
KGB. During the Soviet Union's existence, Iron Felix
stood as a symbol of KGB terror.

Support and Outrage
--------------


3. (U) The dedication of a monument to Dzerzhinsky
outraged several opposition activists and human rights
leaders. Jailed activist Nikolay Statkevich equated the
statue to a symbol of civil war, the extermination of an
entire social stratum, and the massacre of the
intelligentsia and Russian elite. According to
Statkevich, Iron Felix was a historic figure that
Belarusians should not be proud of. Human rights lawyer
for the Belarusian Helsinki Committee Oleg Gulak called
the monument a sign of the "final establishment of
dictatorship in Belarus" and an insult to the millions
of victims repressed by the "machine" created by
Dzerzhinsky. Both activists likened GOB policies to
those of Dzerzhinsky and noted that the only aspect
missing in Belarusian dictator Aleksandr Lukashenko's
regime were mass killings. Head of Belarus' border
guards General Aleksandr Pavlovsky, however, defended
the statue and considered Iron Felix an historic figure
responsible for creating and strengthening Belarus'
border guards. Head of the BKGB Stepan Sukharenko
showed support by attending the dedication ceremony.

Dzerzhinsky Already a "Hero"
--------------


4. (U) The statue to Dzerzhinsky is not the only
monument to the former Chekist. In downtown Minsk
opposite the BKGB headquarters stands a bust to Iron
Felix, erected in 2004. A museum dedicated to the
founder of the Soviet terror machine is located in his
home village, now called Dzerzhinsk (25 kilometers from
Minsk). The village is a "Mecca" to the BKGB, where
graduating BKGB cadets make a pilgrimage to pledge an
oath to live by the example set by Dzerzhinsky.

Comment
--------------


5. (SBU) Lukashenko does not keep secret his admiration
for Soviet leaders known for their brutality. In August
2005, Lukashenko squandered unknown amounts of money to
recreate and dedicate an insignificant portion of
Belarus' pre-WWII defense line to Joseph Stalin. The
GOB published a political biography on Stalin,
highlighting his "successes" as a leader and glossing
over (or ignoring) all the crimes against humanity he
committed (reftel).

KROL