Solovetsky Stone
Encyclopedia
The Solovetsky Stone is a monument located in Lubyanka Square
in Moscow
, across from KGB headquarters
. The monument consists of a large stone brought from the Solovetsky Islands
, the location of Solovki prison camp, part of the Soviet Gulag
system. According to the Russian NGO Memorial
, the monument was erected on 30 October 1990 to commemorate a 1974 initiative by political prisoners to establish a "Day of Political Prisoners in the USSR." In 1991, the Supreme Soviet of Russia
officially established 30 October as the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Political Repressions
.
Another Solovetsky Stone was erected in the public garden on Troitskaya Square (59°57′10.13"N 30°19′32.13"E) in Saint Petersburg
in 2002. It was designed by Yevgeny Ukhnalyov
and is officially known as the Memorial to the Victim of Political Repressions in Petrograd - Leningrad. The monument is a 10-tonne granite
boulder
taken 50 meters from the place of mass executions of the prisoners of the Solovki prison camp. The rock is set on a polished granite base with inscriptions "To prisoners of GULAG
", "To victims of Communist Terror", "To Freedom Fighters" and a line from the "Requiem" poem of Anna Akhmatova
: "I wish to call all of them by name, but ..." (Хотелось бы всех поименно назвать...) The monument was unveiled on 4 September 2002 in preparation for celebrations of 300 years of Saint Petersburg. According to Solvki Encyclopedia Ukhnalyov and the architect of the memorial, State Duma
deputy Yuly Rybakov
, paid all the expenses personally including the transportation of the 10,400 kg boulder from the Solovetsky Islands
in the White Sea
. The Saint Petersburg city administration would not help finance the memorial despite significant budget allocated to celebrate the tercentenary of the city.
Lubyanka Square
Lubyanka Square in Moscow is about north east of Red Square. The name is first mentioned in 1480, when Ivan III settled many Novgorodians in the area. They built the church of St Sophia, modelled after St Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod, and called the area Lubyanka after the Lubyanitsy district of...
in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, across from KGB headquarters
Lubyanka (KGB)
The Lubyanka is the popular name for the headquarters of the KGB and affiliated prison on Lubyanka Square in Moscow. It is a large building with a facade of yellow brick, designed by Alexander V...
. The monument consists of a large stone brought from the Solovetsky Islands
Solovetsky Islands
The Solovetsky Islands , or Solovki , are an archipelago located in the Onega Bay of the White Sea, Russia. The islands are served by the Solovki Airport. Area: ....
, the location of Solovki prison camp, part of the Soviet Gulag
Gulag
The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
system. According to the Russian NGO Memorial
Memorial (society)
Memorial is an international historical and civil rights society that operates in a number of post-Soviet states. It focuses on recording and publicising the Soviet Union's totalitarian past, but also monitors human rights in post-Soviet states....
, the monument was erected on 30 October 1990 to commemorate a 1974 initiative by political prisoners to establish a "Day of Political Prisoners in the USSR." In 1991, the Supreme Soviet of Russia
Supreme Soviet of Russia
The Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR , later Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation was the supreme government institution of the Russian SFSR in 1938–1990; in 1990–1993 it was a permanent parliament, elected by the Congress of People's Deputies of the Russian Federation.The Supreme Soviet of...
officially established 30 October as the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Political Repressions
Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Political Repressions
Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Political Repressions , is an annual day of remembrance for victims of political repression in the Soviet Union....
.
Another Solovetsky Stone was erected in the public garden on Troitskaya Square (59°57′10.13"N 30°19′32.13"E) in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
in 2002. It was designed by Yevgeny Ukhnalyov
Yevgeny Ukhnalyov
Yevgeny Ilyich Ukhnalyov is a Russian artist. He is a founding member of the Russian Guild of Heraldic Artists and the author of many state symbols of modern Russia including its coat of arms...
and is officially known as the Memorial to the Victim of Political Repressions in Petrograd - Leningrad. The monument is a 10-tonne granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
boulder
Boulder
In geology, a boulder is a rock with grain size of usually no less than 256 mm diameter. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive....
taken 50 meters from the place of mass executions of the prisoners of the Solovki prison camp. The rock is set on a polished granite base with inscriptions "To prisoners of GULAG
Gulag
The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
", "To victims of Communist Terror", "To Freedom Fighters" and a line from the "Requiem" poem of Anna Akhmatova
Anna Akhmatova
Anna Andreyevna Gorenko , better known by the pen name Anna Akhmatova , was a Russian and Soviet modernist poet, one of the most acclaimed writers in the Russian canon.Harrington p11...
: "I wish to call all of them by name, but ..." (Хотелось бы всех поименно назвать...) The monument was unveiled on 4 September 2002 in preparation for celebrations of 300 years of Saint Petersburg. According to Solvki Encyclopedia Ukhnalyov and the architect of the memorial, State Duma
State Duma
The State Duma , common abbreviation: Госду́ма ) in the Russian Federation is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia , the upper house being the Federation Council of Russia. The Duma headquarters is located in central Moscow, a few steps from Manege Square. Its members are referred to...
deputy Yuly Rybakov
Yuly Rybakov
Yuly Andreyevuch Rybakov is a human rights activist, a former member of the State Duma , a former Chairman of the Subcommittee on Human Rights , the founder of the magazine "Terra incognita", a former political prisoner....
, paid all the expenses personally including the transportation of the 10,400 kg boulder from the Solovetsky Islands
Solovetsky Islands
The Solovetsky Islands , or Solovki , are an archipelago located in the Onega Bay of the White Sea, Russia. The islands are served by the Solovki Airport. Area: ....
in the White Sea
White Sea
The White Sea is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is surrounded by Karelia to the west, the Kola Peninsula to the north, and the Kanin Peninsula to the northeast. The whole of the White Sea is under Russian sovereignty and considered to be part of...
. The Saint Petersburg city administration would not help finance the memorial despite significant budget allocated to celebrate the tercentenary of the city.
External links
- The Solovetsky Stone in Moscow at Wikimapia