A memorial plaque in memory of the Finnish commander who fought in World War II against the Soviet Union and participated in the blockade of Leningrad was installed in St. Petersburg today, June 16. The reaction of society was not long in coming: politicians, experts and ordinary citizens of St. Petersburg and Russia made condemning statements against the initiators of the installation of the memorial plaque. At this time, the authors of this historic initiative declare that by doing so they tried to "reconcile and unite society," the correspondent reports.

Head of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation Sergey Ivanov today took part in the installation ceremony in St. Petersburg Memorial plaque to Finnish Marshal and President Karl Mannerheim on the facade of the building of the Military Academy of Logistics on Zakharyevskaya Street in St. Petersburg. It was decided to open the facility perpetuating an ally of Nazi Germany on Thursday, June 16, as part of the anniversary XX St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, TASS reports.

According to the Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Vladimir Medinsky, the board is installed in order to "save memory".

“The board in honor of Mannerheim is another of our attempts to overcome the tragic split in our society on the eve of the centenary of the Russian revolution. That is why we erect monuments to the heroes of the First World War throughout the country, who later ended up on opposite sides of the barricades,” he said.

At the opening ceremony, Sergei Ivanov recalled the contribution that Mannerheim made in the Russo-Japanese and World War I.

“As they say, you can’t erase words from a song. No one is going to whitewash Mannerheim’s actions after 1918, but until 1918 he served Russia, and to be completely frank, he lived and served in Russia longer than he served and lived in Finland," Ivanov said at the opening.

At the same time, on the eve of the opening of the memorial tablet, a petition to the President of the Russian Federation with a request " to prevent the installation in St. Petersburg of a memorial plaque to the fascist ally Karl Mannerheim". At the time of publication of the news, the petition was signed by about 830 campaigners.

The text of the petition says:

"We want to change the plans of the Russian military-historical society to install in St. Petersburg a memorial plaque to Karl Mannerheim, an ally of Adolf Hitler."

The petition was supported by a politician Daria Mitina. She asked readers on her Facebook page to "sign a petition to prevent the perpetuation of the memory of fascist henchman Mannerheim in St. Petersburg - Leningrad!"

"Carl Gustav Emil von Mannerheim, President of Finland, a former general of the Russian army, was indeed an ally of Hitler and received awards from his hands. His subsequent surrender of this fact doesn't smooth at all. Let commemorative plaques and monuments be erected to him in his homeland, and in St. Petersburg, which suffered from the blockade, arranged, including by the Finns, the commemorative plaque will look like strange at least", - writes in the comments one of the citizens who signed the petition.

In an appeal delivered on June 16 in the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg, it was noted that Marshal Karl Mannerheim "commanded the Finnish-fascist troops during the blockade of Leningrad, destroy the city named after Lenin, the cradle of the Great October Revolution, together with its defenders and residents".

"Deputies of the Communist Party faction in the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg strongly condemn plan to install a memorial plaque in honor of Hitler's accomplice, Finnish Marshal Karl Mannerheim and perceive this act as mockery of the blessed memory of the dead into the blockade of Leningraders and the defenders of the city, as an act of desecration of our Great Motherland", the statement says.

"Attempts to falsify and denigrate Soviet history and rehabilitate fascist criminals - Vlasov, Mannerheim, Krasnov and others in Russia, the legal successor of the USSR, which won Nazi Germany, mean only one thing, that ATThe Great Patriotic War, by and large, has not ended even todayI. Followers of Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin continue to wage it against our country, and while they are in power, Russia will not be independent, great and prosperous," the head of the Communist Party faction concluded VladimirDmitriev.

Deputies from the Communist Party recalled that Russian legislation provides for responsibility for the rehabilitation of Nazism- Art. 354.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. In particular, the approval of crimes established by the International Military Tribunal is prohibited. According to the communists, the installation of this memorial plaque is aboutapproval of the crimes of the Nazis and their accomplices. In particular, the actual approval of their inhuman actions to destroy the civilian population of the besieged city.

"Installing a memorial plaque is a blasphemous action, disregard for all the blockade, all those who died in besieged Leningrad, those who gave their lives in the fight against fascism. It is especially scary that this is happening on the eve of June 22 - Day of Remembrance and Sorrow.", - said the deputy head of the Communist Party faction in the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg Alexey Vorontsov to the Assistant City Attorney Olga Andreeva.

He shared his opinion on perpetuating the memory of the Finnish marshal with On the eve.RU writer, historian, author of books about the Great Patriotic War, resident of St. Petersburg Igor Pykhalov.

"If in the situation with Kadyrov (one of the bridges in St. Petersburg on June 16 was named after Akhmat Kadyrov - note Nakanune.RU) it is still possible to argue, then everything is clear here. Mannerheim is just an ally of Hitler and an accomplice in the blockade of Leningrad, therefore signage is strictly prohibited. A year ago, such an initiative was "beaten off", the board was removed. Now I'm even afraid to predict. But here everything is clear: there should be no Mannerheim boards", - said the expert.

In connection with the public outcry around the memorial plaque to Mannerheim, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation commented on the situation Dmitry Peskov. In his opinion, the Finnish marshal is a person "whose role will be studied by historians for a long time to come."

"Indeed, Sergey Borisovich Ivanov is participating today in the opening of a memorial plaque, and, indeed, Mannerheim's personality is still causes controversy. But one can definitely say that this is a unique personality", - Dmitry Peskov said in response to a question about how the Kremlin treats the installation of the board to the marshal, who took the side of Germany in World War II and participated in the blockade of Leningrad, RIA Novosti quotes.

In response to the public reaction, which mainly condemned the decision to install the tablet, Vladimir Medinsky stated:

"To those who are now shouting there, I want to remind from us: no need to be holier than the pope and you don’t have to try to be a greater patriot and communist than Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin, who personally defended Mannerheim, ensured his election and retention of the post of President of Finland for him and knew how to treat a defeated but worthy opponent with respect,” said the Minister of Culture.

Recall that Mannerheim is a national hero of Finland. Of the 83 years of his life, 30 years were associated with Russia. In 1887, he entered the Nikolaev Cavalry School in St. Petersburg, served in the 15th Alexander Dragoon Regiment, in the Cavalier Guard Regiment. In 1897-1903, Mannerheim was in the service of the imperial court in St. Petersburg. Participated in the Russo-Japanese War, commanded different parts active Russian army in World War I.

After the Bolsheviks came to power, Mannerheim left for Finland, which in December 1917 declared independence from Russia. In 1918 he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Army. In 1941-1944, he led the Finnish armed forces in the war against the USSR, while, contrary to the requirements of Germany, he refrained from attacking Leningrad from the north. Remaining the commander-in-chief of the Finnish armed forces, in August 1944 he was elected president of the country and concluded a truce with the USSR.

As reported, about a year ago in St. Petersburg, then the installation was prevented.

On the evening of October 13, at 22:30, in St. Petersburg, a long-suffering memorial plaque to Karl Mannerheim was removed from the wall of the former barracks of the Cavalier Guard Regiment on Zakharyevskaya Street.

Two men climbed through the scaffolding to the height of the second floor of the building, to the level where the board hung, below there were people in uniform and a few more people.

The men hooked the board onto a crane hook, then loosened it and tore it off the wall.

After that, the memorial sign was loaded onto a crane, which took it away from Zakharyevskaya Street.

A memorial plaque to Carl Gustav Mannerheim was placed on Zakharyevskaya Street on June 16, 2016. A bas-relief depicting a lieutenant general was solemnly erected on the wall of the Military Engineering and Technical University - in the very center of the city, a stone's throw from the Tauride Garden, the administration of St. Petersburg and other iconic places - at the initiative of the Russian Military Historical Society.

The opening of the memorial plaque was attended by the head of the Presidential Administration of Russia, Sergei Ivanov, and the Minister of Culture, Vladimir Medinsky. The event was held in an extremely solemn atmosphere: despite all the ambiguity of Mannerheim's personality, it was not without an orchestra and a guard of honor. However, the honors given to the white general who took part in the blockade of Leningrad, many residents of the city were extremely outraged.

The Internet was stirred up by a wave of negative comments from Petersburgers, amazed by such an act. "The board to the executioner of the Russians Mannerheim in St. Petersburg is an insult to the memory of the fallen soldiers and residents of Leningrad!", "He was Hitler's accomplice and helped maintain the blockade of Leningrad from the north-west. Installing a commemorative plaque for him in this city is a mockery of hundreds of thousands of dead blockade! " - such statements rained down in hail both in the media and in social networks. But the indignation of Petersburgers was not limited to the Internet space alone.

Very soon, the memorial plaque was painted red - already on June 19, just three days after the ceremonial events with the orchestra and Vladimir Medinsky. Who made this step for the first time remained a mystery, but the first sign was by no means the last.

In early August, the second day, the red color again changed the image of the lieutenant general and the former president of Finland. However, this time, this peculiar protest action had organizers who were not afraid to take responsibility. They turned out to be representatives of the unregistered national-Bolshevik party "Other Russia". However, despite the fact that the "paint throwers" were caught by employees law enforcement, one might say, hot, the police did not detain them.

Both the first and the second time the "bloody" spots were washed off the marshal's face. Then the opponents of the idea to perpetuate the memory of Mannerheim decided to use "heavy artillery" - the bas-relief was doused with acid.

While activists and unknown opponents of Karl Gustav defaced the memorial plaque along with the walls of the former barracks of the Cavalry Guards Regiment on which it hung, the rest of the citizens tried to convince the administration to simply remove and remove the bone of contention. But in the course of discussions between the townspeople and representatives of the authorities, it turned out that no one coordinated the opening of the commemorative plaque with the relevant authorities.

The illegality of the installation of the monument was confirmed by the administration of the Central District of St. Petersburg. Then one of the residents of the city filed a lawsuit with the government of St. Petersburg demanding to dismantle the board. Back in the summer, the lawsuit was sent to the Smolninsky District Court, which, first at the end of September, and then, on September 27, successfully rejected it.

Then the townspeople continued to damage the general's appearance with improvised means. Already on October 3, round holes appeared on Mannerheim's face, similar to bullet marks. Petersburgers assumed that the ill-wishers were under the cover of night from firearms, but upon closer examination it became clear that the bullets could not leave such traces. Holes of different diameters with perfectly smooth edges most likely appeared after using a drill.

And on October 10, the activists of the Other Russia, who had already confessed their dislike for Mannerheim, went even further: by filming their act of civil will on camera. The leader of the St. Petersburg branch of the party, Andrey Dmitriev, told Life that four people took part in the action: one chopped, others held the ladder. He also stressed that this is not the first and not the last such action.

For four months, the board was doused with paint three times, once with acid, shot at it. Now chopped with an axe. We poured paint over twice, the rest was done by unknown people, ”commented Dmitriev. - They don’t want to shoot, which means that this will continue in the future with all available means.

Natalya Poklonskaya and Eduard Limonov spoke about the "Mannerheim conflict" on the air of Life.

Natalya Poklonskaya, a former cult prosecutor of the Crimea and a newly minted deputy of the State Duma, said in an interview with Life that, in her opinion, there should not be a "discord board" in St. Petersburg. However, she would leave this issue to the residents of the city themselves:

Let the people make the decision about the Mannerheim board. public hearings. My opinion is that, rather, there should not be a board in St. Petersburg. This is a controversial issue, and it is necessary to solve it for the people who live there, historians, politicians, - said Natalya Poklonskaya.

Approximately in the same vein, but much more sharply, Eduard Limonov spoke:

Mannerheim is a disgusting figure. Half of the victims who died in Leningrad from the cold are on his conscience. They held the front from the north, preventing people from getting food and groceries. I don't know what Russian influential idiot thought of putting up this board. This is a slap in the face to all the blockade. Society is beating. Twice filled with paint, it's only ours. People protested against the board, but no one reacted. Now they are chopping with an axe. This is a great injustice that costs Mannerheim the board. This is a spit on the graves of all the blockade survivors, the people who died there, -.

Carl Gustav Mannerheim - personality in Russian history very ambiguous. Born in Finland to a Baron and a Countess, at the age of 13 he and his family were abandoned by their father. Ruined Mannerheim Sr. decided to "start life from scratch" in Paris. A year later, Gustav's mother died, and the future marshal went to Russia to build a military career.

armies Russian Empire Mannerheim gave more than 30 years, starting as a cornet and ending as a lieutenant general. Gustav Karlovich was a member of the Imperial Trotting Society, at the beginning of his career he selected model horses for Serov's paintings and had affairs with two Shuvalovs at once - a countess and an artist, which drove his legal wife into a frenzy (in 1901, the baroness could not stand it and left as a nurse for Far East).

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In Finland, the military career of the baron did not immediately, but still went uphill. In 1931 he became president State Committee defense of Finland, and in 1933 he was awarded the rank of field marshal.

Field Marshal Mannerheim met the Russian-Finnish war of 1939-1940 in the rank of Supreme Commander. It was he who led the troops of Finland, who fought with the Red Army.

In 1941, Hitler turned to Mannerheim with a request to let German troops into the Finnish lands - and the baron fulfilled this request. In the tragic 872 days of the siege of Leningrad, it was Mannerheim who led the siege of the city from the north.

MOSCOW, 18 October. /TASS/. The installation of a memorial plaque to Karl Mannerheim in St. Petersburg was not a mistake, the protests are connected with ignorance of history, Sergei Ivanov, special representative of the President of the Russian Federation for environmental protection, ecology and transport, is sure. As head of the Kremlin administration, in June of this year he participated in the opening of a memorial plaque.

"Probably, it was necessary to explain to people in advance elementary things related to knowledge of history," Ivanov said in an interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda. In his opinion, "our people, unfortunately, often either do not know history, or, even when they find out some individual facts, they do not want to admit them point-blank." "A very narrow, marginal part of the population, represented by such an unregistered party as the Other Russia, protested against the installation of a memorial sign to Mannerheim," Ivanov believes. He emphasized that "the main falsification is that the plaque was installed to the Finnish Marshal Mannerheim."

"It's a complete lie! This is a monument to the Russian lieutenant general Mannerheim," the presidential envoy explained. He recalled that "Mannerheim did a lot for the Russian Empire," therefore, for example, he is a Knight of St. George. "Of course, Mannerheim is a contradictory figure. But this is an example of how the life of people, and not only ordinary ones, was radically changed, distorted in October 17 of the year (October socialist revolution)", Ivanov is sure.

Our people, unfortunately, often either do not know history, or, even when they find out some individual facts, they do not want to admit them point-blank

Sergey Ivanov

Special Representative of the President for Environmental Protection, Ecology and Transport

"We do not say that the citizen of Finland Mannerheim (and he became one after the 18th year) brought a lot of benefits Soviet Union. But we say that he brought a lot of benefits, including carrying out responsible intelligence missions through the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Empire, that, after all, he was a Soviet military pensioner," Ivanov said.

historical figure

Of the 83 years of Karl Mannerheim's life, 30 were associated with Russia. In 1887, he entered the Nikolaev Cavalry School in St. Petersburg, served in the 15th Alexander Dragoon Regiment, in the Cavalier Guard Regiment. In 1897-1903, Mannerheim served at the imperial court in St. Petersburg, participated in the Russo-Japanese War, commanded units of the active Russian army in the First world war.

After the Bolsheviks came to power, Mannerheim left for Finland, which in December 1917 declared independence from Russia. In 1918 he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Army. In 1941-1944, Mannerheim led the Finnish armed forces in the war against the USSR, while, contrary to German demands, he refrained from attacking Leningrad from the north. Remaining the commander-in-chief of the Finnish armed forces, in August 1944 he was elected president of the country and concluded a truce with the USSR.

Mannerheim is a national hero of Finland. The memorial plaque of Karl Mannerheim, which had been located on Zakharyevskaya Street in St. Petersburg for several months, was transferred in October by the Russian Military Historical Society to the Tsarskoe Selo Museum-Reserve. Now it will be stored as an exhibit in the Museum of the First World War "War Chamber".

Memorial plaque to Karl Mannerheim. The tablet was transferred to Tsarskoe Selo: it became an exhibit of the Museum of the First World War in the Military Chamber.

How did a bas-relief of a supporter of Hitler and a participant in the blockade of Leningrad appear in St. Petersburg, why did the board for a long time couldn’t take it off and what historians think about it - "Paper" collected everything you need to know about the history of the conflict.

What is Mannerheim famous for?

Carl Gustav Mannerheim - Finnish military leader and statesman Swedish origin. Studied and lived in St. Petersburg. From 1890 to 1917 he served in the Russian army, participated in the Russo-Japanese and World War I. After the revolution, he returned to the already independent Finland, in 1918-1919 he was its regent. Under his leadership, in the period from 1933 to 1939, the Finns built a system of defensive fortifications on the Karelian Isthmus to contain the USSR, which later became known as the Mannerheim Line.

In 1939-1944, Mannerheim was commander-in-chief of the Finnish army, commanded troops during the Soviet-Finnish war and World War II on the side Nazi Germany. In 1942, Hitler was a guest at Mannerheim's 75th birthday. The Finnish marshal also participated in the blockade of Leningrad. At the same time, Mannerheim's role in the blockade is controversial. For example, the writer Daniil Granin emphasizes that "the Finns, for their part, did not shell the city, and, despite Hitler's demand, Mannerheim forbade shelling Leningrad from guns."

However, historians have stated that this is a literary fiction.

Vladimir Baryshnikov, Head of the Department of History of Modern and Contemporary Times, St. Petersburg State University:

The task was to take Leningrad<…>Finnish troops also occupied the Soviet part of Karelia. Almost all cities were renamed in the Finnish way. Which suggests that they wanted to keep these territories for themselves. The regime established on the territory of Karelia was essentially racist. Russian population separated from the Finno-Ugric, was determined in concentration camps, in which the percentage of deaths was even higher than in German. And these victims fall like a shadow on Marshal Mannerheim.

In August 1944, after the blockade was lifted, the Red Army launched a retaliatory offensive and the start of negotiations between the USSR and Finland, Mannerheim became president of Finland, and in September he made peace with the USSR.

How did the Mannerheim board appear in St. Petersburg?

2003:

The Mannerheim Museum was opened at the Marshal Hotel on Shpalernaya Street. There was also a bust of a military leader.

2010:

Writer Daniil Granin suggested erecting a memorial plaque to Mannerheim at 31 Zakharyevskaya Street, where the lieutenant general lived, but in the year of the 65th anniversary of the Victory, the committee on culture decided not to rush into a decision.

2015:

The Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky wanted to install the board. According to his plan, the bas-relief was to appear on the facade of house 31 on Galernaya Street on June 18, the first day of the 19th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. However, disputes began around his plans due to Mannerheim's participation in the blockade of Leningrad - and on the eve of the ceremony, the already installed board disappeared. Medinsky himself said that he did not know what prevented him from opening the board.

2016:

They found a new place for the board in St. Petersburg - the building of the Military Engineering and Technical University on Zakharyevskaya Street, 22. At this place stood the Church of the Saints and Righteous Zechariah and Elizabeth, the Life Guards of the Cavalier Guard Regiment, in which Mannerheim served. On June 16, on the opening day of the 20th SPIEF, when Smolny officially announced the appearance of the Akhmat Kadyrov Bridge in St. Petersburg, the board was indeed installed on Zakharyevskaya.

The bas-relief, wrapped in polyethylene and fenced with ribbons, was guarded by the police all night. On the same day, pickets of members of Sergei Kurginyan's "Essence of Time" movement took place near the board, which had not yet been opened. They came to Zakharyevskaya Street with posters "Mannerheim is the same savior of Leningrad as Hitler." Shortly before the official opening, the FSO pushed the protesters back, but the historian, former head of the CEC Vladimir Churov came out to them and said that the idea to perpetuate the memory of the Finnish commander belongs to his biographer, the late writer Leonid Vlasov. As a result, the board to the cries of "shame!" The administration of the President was then opened by Sergei Ivanov and Vladimir Medinsky.

Vladimir Medinsky , Minister of Culture:

The memorial plaque to Mannerheim is an attempt to overcome the tragic split in society that occurred after the October Revolution. And for those who are now shouting there, I want to say: you don’t have to be holier than the Pope of Rome and you don’t have to try to be a greater patriot and communist than Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin, who personally defended Mannerheim, ensured his election and preservation of the post of President of Finland for him.

At the same time, historians found an error on an open board. “The date of the end of the service is indicated on it - 1918, and then he already commanded the White Army in Finland and turned away when Russian officers were shot,” explained Bair Irincheev, director of the Military Museum of the Karelian Isthmus.

How did politicians and historians react to the Mannerheim board?

In addition to Granin and Medinsky, there were few supporters of Mannerheim's appearance of the board. Of the historians, only Kirill Aleksandrov, who wrote a dissertation on General Vlasov, spoke out in support. At the same time, they all noted that the commander really had merits before Russia, but they were not outstanding: “There were more than enough such generals in the Russian army, and the importance of one of them should not be exaggerated.”

Many opposed. The leaders of patriotic clubs recalled their ancestors who died during the blockade, historians spoke of cooperation with Germany, and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation asked the prosecutor's office to check the circumstances of the installation of the board for the rehabilitation of Nazism. "The ring of the White Finns around the city stretched for about 140 km, while the Nazis - only 98 km," the communists noted.

"Mannerheim is the same savior of Leningrad as Hitler"

The keepers of the board itself from the institute were also not happy. On condition of anonymity, one of the teachers told reporters: “No one asked us if we wanted to see this sign on the wall of the institute. One fact connects the institute with the name of Mannerheim: in 1944 our graduates participated in the second breakthrough of the Mannerheim Line and the assault on Vyborg. We have a museum where these pages of history are reflected, the names of the dead graduates are listed. In the classroom for military history the cadets are told that Mannerheim was an ally of Hitler, his troops kept Leningrad in a blockade.<…>My grandfather fought on the Leningrad front, if he were alive today, I would be ashamed to look into his eyes.

Bair Irincheev, Director of the Military Museum of the Karelian Isthmus:

He must be seen as an accomplice of the Nazis. Supporters of the board say: let's forget that Mannerheim was an ally of Nazi Germany from 1941 to 1944, and remember how he carried banners at the coronation of Nicholas II. From my point of view, it is simply impossible to tear apart the biography of one person. It's anti-scientific. So after all, you can remember a lot of good things about Hitler and Stalin.

What happened after the board was installed?

A few hours after the opening, unknown people threw three cans of brilliant green on the board. The cadets cleaned the bas-relief, but on June 19 it was doused with red paint. After that, the board was covered with black polyethylene. At the same time, the bas-relief itself remained in the paint, and the police did not look for vandals, since they did not receive a single statement about the incident.

By the end of July, the board was washed, but already on August 1, members of Eduard Limonov's unregistered party "The Other Russia" poured paint over it. They also staged pickets at the bas-relief and read out the appeal of the defenders of the Hanko Peninsula to Mannerheim, who called the commander a “whore” and a “bastard”.

Until the dismantling, various protests were held near the board. They tried to damage it and poured paint over it several more times, there are traces of bullets on the bas-relief, and on October 13, activists were detained at the memorial, who glued a sign under the board with the inscription "In memory of the most cowardly governor of St. Petersburg."

Why didn't they want to remove the board?

The installation of the board was recognized as illegal, first by the council on memorial plaques under the government of St. Petersburg, and then by the administration of the Central District. The district authorities did not find any permits for the installation, nor documents on its registration.

At the same time, Petersburgers filed several lawsuits with a request to recognize the board as illegal and remove it. was from the 76-year-old blockade survivor Flora Gerashchenko.

This is part of the federal foreign policy agenda: the board was hung up to show Finland that we are disposed to cooperate

As a result, on August 8, the administration handed over to the culture committee an act on the dismantling of the board and a fine of up to 100 thousand rubles for those responsible. According to the law, by September 8, the day the blockade of Leningrad began, the board had to be removed, and the authorities even created a special commission to resolve the issue with the bas-relief. However, Fontanka's sources assumed that the board would still remain in its place.

“The fact is that this is part of the federal foreign policy agenda: the board was hung up to show Finland that we are disposed to cooperate. Therefore, a decision to remove it can only be made if these relations change,” a high-ranking official told reporters. At the same time, Finnish historians noted that the inhabitants of the country are ambivalent about Mannerheim because of his role in the massacres during the Finnish civil war 1918. Finnish Minister of Economic Development Olli Rehn, who came to SPIEF and celebrated Mannerheim's service in Russia, was somewhat surprised by this gesture: “It is very interesting that in Russia they still remember Mannerheim and honor his memory in a certain way.”

On September 7, Radio Baltika confirmed the data of Fontanka's sources. According to the publication, the authorities were not going to remove the commemorative plaque, as officials "did not find legal grounds" for this. After examining the building of the former Cavalier Guard barracks and the adjacent territory, specialists from the administration of the Central District came to the conclusion that the plate refers to improvement objects.

Why was the bas-relief eventually dismantled and how did it happen?

In October, Interfax, citing a source in the authorities of St. Petersburg, that the memorial plaque should be dismantled before the end of the year. It was noted that they decided to remove the board, because after several assassination attempts by hooligans who poured paint on it and also left holes, the board began to look “unpresentable”.

Anonymous Interfax source:

The people who hung the board no longer feel the same pressure as they did initially. The situation has become freer, it allows you to remove the board.

This information was confirmed on the evening of October 13, when people in military uniform and a board came to the building on Zakharyevskaya. About dismantling on its website The Russian Military Historical Society, which is headed by the Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky.

The memorial plaque was transferred to the Tsarskoye Selo Museum-Reserve, where it became an exhibit of the World War I Museum in the Military Chamber. The tablet was installed in the courtyard of the museum complex.

As noted in the RVIO, the board will be stored without restoration "as a symbol of historical disputes in modern Russian society"

A memorial plaque to Carl Gustav Mannerheim was solemnly opened in St. Petersburg today. At the ceremony, to the dissatisfied cries of supporters of the Anti-Maidan movement, head of the presidential administration Sergei Ivanov and Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky spoke. Mr. Ivanov suggested not to “throw out the words from the song”: after all, before cooperating with Adolf Hitler as President of Finland, Karl Mannerheim was a hero of the Russian tsarist army. Historians urge not to use history for political purposes.

A memorial plaque to Karl Mannerheim is installed today on the building of the Military Academy of Material and Technical Education in St. Petersburg. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the tablet, the head of the Kremlin administration, Sergei Ivanov, urged not to justify the Finnish period of Karl Mannerheim's life, but also not to forget the worthy service of the Russian general. “As they say, you can’t throw out a word from a song. No one is going to whitewash Mannerheim's actions after 1918, but until 1918 he served Russia and, to be completely frank, he lived and served in Russia longer than he served and lived in Finland,” Mr. Ivanov said. The head of the administration also said that he had brought with him two "historical documents". “On January 1, 1918, he (Karl Mannerheim.- "b") wrote a letter of resignation from military service and asked for a pension for him, quite legally, by the way, - Mr. Ivanov specified. - And the second document is even more amazing: in February 1918, the Soviet government granted Mannerheim a pension in the amount of 3,761 rubles, a lot of money at that time, that is, General Mannerheim was a Soviet military pensioner."

Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky explained that the installation of monuments to the heroes of the First World War, who then ended up on the other side of the barricades, is "an attempt to overcome the tragic split in society." “To those who are now shouting there, I want to remind from us: you don’t have to be holier than the Pope and don’t try to be a greater patriot and communist than Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin,” the minister advised representatives of the Anti-Maidan movement, who accompanied the ceremony with an action protest, shouting: "Shame on the traitors of the motherland!"

Karl Mannerheim was a hero of the tsarist army, participated in the Russo-Japanese war, commanded parts of the Russian army in the First World War. After the Bolsheviks came to power, he left for his homeland, in Finland, which proclaimed independence. In 1918, Karl Mannerheim became commander-in-chief of the Finnish army. Under his leadership, in the period from 1933 to 1939, a system of defensive fortifications was built on the Karelian Isthmus along the border with the USSR, which later became known as the "Mannerheim Line". He commanded troops during the Soviet-Finnish War, as well as during World War II on the side of Nazi Germany, although he strongly rejected the plan to capture Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). In August 1944, he was elected president of the country and signed a truce with the USSR.

Sergey Ivanov reminded yesterday that during Russo-Japanese War Karl Mannerheim was twice wounded, received high state awards. And in 1906-1908 he made a horse trip to China and made a lot of valuable military observations, after which he returned to St. Petersburg and continued his service, went through the entire First World War and participated in the Brusilov breakthrough. And Vladimir Medinsky added that Joseph Stalin "personally defended Mannerheim, ensured his election and the preservation of the post of President of Finland for him and knew how to treat a defeated but worthy opponent with respect."

“It is important to distinguish between politicking, the use of history for political purposes, and simply the study of history,” Vladislav Kononov, executive director of the Russian Military Historical Society (RVIO), told Kommersant. It was the RVIO that initiated the installation of monuments to the heroes Patriotic War 1812, the First World War, as well as the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, the search for unknown heroes of which continues today. “Enough clichés, stop using categorical judgments, we need to better understand our own history,” Mr. Kononov urges. “There is no reassessment of history. If we talk about Karl Mannerheim as a Russian general before 1918, then we must be equal to such heroes.

Ekaterina Grobman