Russia’s State Duma proposes to remove USSR leaders’ graves from Red Square
The Deputy Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, Boris Chernyshov, from the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, has proposed to remove the memorial cemetery where the prominent USSR figures are buried from Red Square, also urging to remove Lenin's body from the Mausoleum. As reported by RIA Novosti, Russian communists criticised the idea.
"These all [burials] are possible but not in Red Square since it is blasphemy: this should not be in the place where a skating rink and shopping malls are situated, where people celebrate the New Year holidays, promenade and come from regions… This is a cemetery for people. One of them is not even buried here in line with all norms – or simply rules of morality. I am speaking of Lenin. It has been a long time since Red Square should be freed from this group of burials," Mr. Chernyshov stressed, adding that the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia had submitted several bills to the State Duma on this topic.
State Duma deputy Yuri Afonin, the First Deputy Chairman of the Central Committee of Russia’s Communist Party, criticised this proposal, noting that ‘nobody will actually allow any opportunities to transfer the burials, including the country’s citizens’. “This is not envisaged by the law,” he added, urging to stop ‘tomb digging’.
The Communists of Russia Party stated that they would appeal to the State Duma with a proposal to adopt a law On Inviolability of Historical Burials in Red Square – ‘so that proposals – as the one made by Chernyshov – would never be voiced’.
In turn, Aleksandr Brod, a member of the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights Development, stressed that it is necessary to bury the bodies of the deceased whose graves are located in Red Square. However, according to him, it should be taken into account that such actions will cause discontent on the part of some citizens, so there is no need to hurry in this matter.
Aleksandr Bashkin, a member of the Constitutional Committee of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, believes ‘it is no need to fight against monuments’ since ‘these are symbols and evidence of past epochs and history, so they should remain in place’.
