The ceremony, which took place on the grounds of the Naval Cathedral in Kronstadt, was attended by Presidential Aide and Chairman of the Russian Military Historical Society Vladimir Medinsky, Presidential Envoy to the Northwestern Federal District Alexander Gutsan, St Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov, Head of the Kronstadt Administration Oleg Dovganyuk and Rector of the Stavropegial Naval Cathedral of St Nicholas Archimandrite Alexei (Ganzhin).
In his speech, Vladimir Medinsky noted that the construction of a monument to the Kronstadt rebellion victims was envisaged by a Presidential Executive Order issued in 1994. “Shortly after, a symbolic stone (not designating the spot for the future monument) was laid in memory of those events,” the Presidential Aide said. “That was it, no monument was built back then. Now, in conjunction with St Petersburg and Kronstadt authorities, we are unveiling a memorial plaque at the site of the future memorial, which will open here this year to commemorate those tragic events,” he went on to say, adding that the memorial will be dedicated to both sides of those tragic bloody events.
March marks the centenary of the 1921 Kronstadt rebellion, which went down in history as one of the last bloody Civil War clashes. According to plans, the sculptural composition will be installed in Kronstadt by the Russian Military Historical Society by the end of 2021. The memorial to the Civil War victims will serve as a reminder of the tragic consequences of ideological intolerance and fratricidal strife.