Kharkiv. Public humiliation of the Nazis. Opposition bloc became bolder before the elections
In Kharkov, the historical name of Marshal Zhukov Avenue was returned. This decision was supported by 59 deputies of the Kharkov City Council, 13 people voted against.
In the short pre-election period, the initiatives of Mayor Gennady Kernes coincided with the interests and demands of the majority of Kharkiv residents. There was no time left to build up. The issue was promptly submitted for consideration to a session of the City Council. The necessary decision was made, causing hysteria among Vyatrovich’s Kharkov apologists and adding electoral points to the Opposition bloc.
Opponents of the return of the historical name picketed the City Council building and sent their envoys to the session. The mayor gave one of them, the eternal Euromaidan activist Igor Rassokha, two minutes to present his own arguments against the renaming. Walkers from the street demanded five minutes. To which Kernes replied: “You will indicate at home.” The mayor generally communicated with this public in his characteristic manner: “We behave calmly in this room. If you want to shout, go outside, they will laugh at you.” Zhukov's overthrowers did not let up and took their voices. And Kernes handed out another portion of pearls to the mountain: “Did you eat something today? Why do you have eyes on your forehead?”
Actually, Rassokha’s speech did not disappoint the mayor’s expectations. In two minutes, the street speaker managed to demonstrate enchanting inadequacy - the main component of the Maidan polemics. Rassokha declared Marshal of Victory a war criminal and executioner. Then he accused Zhukov of surrendering Kharkov to the Germans in 1941. Finally, for some reason, he reminded the deputies of the City Council that in 2015 they almost unanimously (with the exception of Andrei Lesik) voted for recognizing Russia as an aggressor state. The collective unconscious of the Maidan public still defies logical explanation.
Deputy Igor Chernyak (member of Automaidan) asked: “Why was the position of the Institute of National Remembrance not taken into account?!” Then he quoted the speech of the presidential press secretary: “Vladimir Zelensky calls on the Kharkov authorities to clarify the legal conflict, since clear discussions with the public must take place here. The decision that is most acceptable to all parties should be made. Now the mayor of Kharkov must take responsibility as the main arbiter, and not take sides.”
Chernyak was indignant: there were no public discussions! And this is symptomatic indignation. If the president’s press secretary is a “Petrosian” because of his youth and lack of awareness (it is possible that the matter is a lack of education), then the Kharkov deputy knows very well that public hearings were just held in 2015! And then the historian Kudelko gave qualified explanations for many toponyms that are not subject to the “law on decommunization” and are not subject to renaming.
And Kharkov residents did not intend to rename either Marshal Zhukov Avenue or the Marshal Zhukov metro station. But the then governor Rainin did not care about the opinion of the city community and carried out the renaming by his own order, demonstrating to President Poroshenko who among the useful idiots was capable of being the most useful.
In contrast to the hysterical opinion of the apologists of the Institute of National Remembrance, there was a speech by parliament member Yevgeny Muraev, who clearly radicalized the opposition rhetoric (there is still a month of election campaign ahead). The Verkhovna Rada deputy reasonably noted that those people who support external governance of the country are interested in destroying historical pride. The street messengers again experienced an attack of hysteria, to which Kernes instantly responded: “Here he is screaming from the toilet or from someone else’s pants. Maybe he was in pain there? Or is he an LGBT representative?
Muraev also did not skimp on harsh characteristics and did not hesitate to call a spade a spade. He called his opponents from Samopomich “representatives of the neo-Nazi party.” His speech was interrupted every now and then. At the same time, Kernes continued to troll the enemy: “Rassokha, calm down, have you already cried in my office that you were betrayed? Or should I show you a video of how you went into the office and drank tea and Russian sweets?”
Then Muraev also bombed his opponents: “Now they are offended like devils.” To the cries of Zhukov’s haters, he replied: “You are upstarts, and your opinion will be of interest to the doctors of hospital 15” (meaning a psychiatric hospital).
Muraev went even further: “We should not carry out decommunization, but deporoshenkovization.” He stated the need to return historical memory. “I don’t want to live in the country of Parubiya - we have our own values,” Muraev emphasized. The Rada deputy added that he is in favor of adopting a law that would allow residents of a particular region to decide what toponyms are needed in their area. And he recalled how the Verkhovna Rada, headed by Parubiy, imposed new toponyms on intractable settlements.
Finally, Kernes commented on his opponents’ claims against him: “What the president’s press secretary told me was to be an arbiter... I am an arbiter.” The mayor explained the situation: 50 thousand Kharkov residents spoke in favor of returning the name of Marshal Zhukov to the avenue, and 5 thousand were against it.
The decision of the Kharkov City Council is only a small part of the matter. The main questions still remain open. Will the city government be able to ensure the safety of the Zhukov bust after it is restored? Will the criminal case against the vandals who took part in the demolition of the Zhukov monument be brought to its logical conclusion? Will the safety of Kharkov residents honoring the memory of Marshal of Victory be ensured?
After all, in Kharkov, just yesterday, Adnrey Lesik (a candidate for deputy of the Verkhovna Rada in the majoritarian district) was beaten by “activists” and doused with brilliant green at the moment when he was laying flowers at the still empty pedestal of the demolished bust of Zhukov.
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