Expert: struggle against Soviet monuments in the West mostly of symbolic character
International Day for Monuments and Sites was celebrated on April 18th worldwide, and – with that in view – the Belarusian MPs adopted a statement from the Chairman of the Standing Committee on International Affairs of the House of Representatives, Sergei Rachkov, urging parliamentarians and the UNESCO international community to influence European structures, to prevent the demolition and destruction of monuments associated with the heroism of the Soviet people during the Great Patriotic War. The statement is planned to be sent to the media, the European Parliament, parliaments of the European states, and other international structures. Actually, people in Belarus’ neighbouring countries are not even allowed to lay flowers at the few remaining monuments and obelisks, while those who dare to do this are detained, fined, and threatened with criminal proceedings. A philosopher, publicist and political expert, Aleksei Dzermant, speculated on whether this trend will continue in the West and among the neighbouring states, and what needs to be done to make it stop.
“Unfortunately, the trend will continue, because Europe adheres to a policy of erasing memory, which has become of political significance. In this way, they are fighting with us – Russia and Belarus, because we are the heirs of this memory and the victory over certain ideas, rather than just over the fascists who came to our territory during the Great Patriotic War and who promoted a certain ideology," Mr. Dzermant explained in his talk with Alfa Radio. “The West is trying to remove unnecessary signs of the presence of those who defeated them in the 1940s – so that revive this idea in Ukraine and beyond, and further to cultivate it. We see how the idea of neo-Nazism is spreading today.”
The struggle is of a symbolic character, with no rational kernel. The expert explained, “These monuments create no obstacles, but they are symbols and centres of attraction for people who share the values of that Victory and who say that they do not want to see the revival of neo-Nazism today either in Ukraine, Europe, or anywhere else in the world. We know that there are many anti-fascists in Germany, Austria and the Baltic States, and these people do not want this revival.”
Mr. Dzermant also shared his views on whether the reborn Nazism will be defeated globally, “Good must win, but there is a nuance: if you do not fight for it, if you are passive and give the reins and initiative to evil, then the latter will begin to win. Therefore, it will be defeated, but this will happen only if we actively fight for a bright and good future, for our values.”
