by Nina Achmatova

City Hall in the Russian capital gave the green light to the restoration of a commemorative plaque in one of the houses of the late Soviet leader, whose 18 years in power were marked by stagnation and repression. For some observers, this is part of a political strategy to legitimise the current regime.

Moscow (AsiaNews) - The decision by the City of Moscow to restore a commemorative plaque dedicated to general secretary of the CPSU Leonid Brezhnev (1906-1982) is causing waves. The plaque used to be on a stately building on Kutuzovsky Prospekt 26 where the late Soviet leader lived for 30 years, but was removed after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Now commentators and human rights activists warn that the decision to put it back might herald more than Brezhnev's rehabilitation, and could be part of a broader political design.

Aleksandr Khinshtein, a lawmaker with the ruling United Russia party and the driving force behind the project, said on Twitter that it will more likely be ready in December-in time for Brezhnev's 107th birthday. A Moscow City Hall committee has approved the initiative, submitted by a group of State Duma deputies.

But critics say Brezhnev, whose 18-year rule was marked by political repression and economic stagnation, as well as the militarisation of domestic and foreign policy, does not deserve the honour.

Memorial, an NGO committed to the memory of the victims of repression, and some human rights groups have harshly criticised the initiative.

"Our authorities are nostalgic about Soviet times, so they respond to the requests of citizens who feel the same nostalgia," Lyudmila Alekseyeva, a veteran rights activist and head of the Moscow Helsinki Group, tells RFE/RL.

"In my opinion, looking back at the past is the last thing leaders and people should be doing," she added. "I don't miss those times, even though I'm an old person and I spent my youth during this period. I'm happy that we got rid of this unsuccessful Soviet experiment."

Although Brezhnev continues to be the butt of countless jokes, a recent opinion poll by the independent Levada Center found that Brezhnev was the most popular Russian leader of the 20th century. In fact, 56 per cent thought his 18 years of rule were good. Surprisingly, half of respondents thought the same about Stalin's 30-year reign.

According to experts, more than nostalgia for the USSR, the poll reveals a lack of historical knowledge and the fact that the memory of the past is linked to myths deeply rooted in society.

Stalin represents victory and Brezhnev prosperity, political analyst Sergey Chernyakhovsky told Russian newspaper Kommersant.  Indeed, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the Brezhnev era a "huge plus" for the country.

What is more, for Vedomosti columnist Andrei Kolesnikov, the "rehabilitation of Brezhnev is part of a political project."

The way national history is conceptualised has changed, Kolesnikov noted.  The shameful pages of Russian history become the ones we must be proud of, from Stalin to Brezhnev, from economic debt to mocking dissidents. This type of history provides the existing regime ideological justification and legitimacy.

 

• russia
• moscow
• city
• brezhnev
• plaque
• restoration