“Will he ask to demolish Lenin monument next?” – N. Ossetian blogger tried “for hatred of communists”
Ossetian blogger on trial for ‘hatred of communists’
Batraz Misikov, 33, a well-known Sidamon Telegram channel blogger, will soon stand trial in North Ossetia (Russia) on charges of “inciting hatred against communists”.
According to his short post on the Telegram channel regarding the renaming of Lenin Street in Vladikavkaz, a whole linguistic examination was carried out. The blogger himself proves its bias, but it will still become the main evidence in court.
Lenin, Toguzov, Peter the Great, and the war in Ukraine
It all started when a well-known local activist Valery Gazzaev proposed to rename Lenin Street after the Hero of the Soviet Union Kaurbek Toguzov.
The Ossetian branch of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation issued a furious statement in response. Its representatives cited the war in Ukraine as an example:
“After the Maidan of 2014, Bandera’s first decrees banned the activities of the Communist Party of Ukraine, adopted a law on decommunization, launched a campaign to demolish Soviet monuments and rename streets, a considerable number of which bore the name of Lenin”.
The proposal to name the street after Toguzov instead of Lenin is compared in the statement to the perpetuation of the memory of the 14th Waffen-SS division.
The central Moscow office of the Communist Party also got involved in the scandal.
Deputy Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Dmitry Novikov spoke about the “cynical provocation” and about “an insult to the founder of the Soviet state”, which “every person with a clear mind” sees.
Batraz Misikov Sidamon commented on the issue in his Telegram channel:
“Russians can rename the whole city of Leningrad in honor of their tsar and his heavenly patron, but the Ossetians cannot rename one street in honor of their Hero without a complete outrage of the ‘red sect’ and the state, which, choosing between Ossetian and communist interests, will always choose the latter”.
And then the local branch of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation got involved in the situation. The Telegram post was sent for evaluation to local experts, Inna and Oscar Kunavins.
The conclusion of the experts was as follows: the blogger “promotes the superiority of the “Russians” over the “Ossetians” and “uses words and statements aimed at inciting hatred, enmity towards the communists in general, the communists of Ossetia in particular, as well as towards the state”.
The accused blogger made a video message and said that experts were settling long-standing personal scores with him.
“I perceive what is happening as a form of public punishment. This is evidenced by the deliberate absurdity of the accusations, the emphasized negligence in compiling the evidence base, the haste of the prosecutor’s office, as well as the extremely aggressive reaction of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation”, Batraz Misikov told the Russian newspaper Kommersant.
The case has gone to court, but no date for the trial has been set yet.
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Blogger survived Beslan terrorist attack, his father helped clear the mined school
In 2004, at the age of 15, Batraz Misikov was in school No. 1 in Beslan, which was seized by terrorists. For three days he and his parents and younger brother stayed without water in the same gym where children, their parents and teachers were kept.
334 people were killed in that attack, 186 of them were children. He and his family survived, but his parents were seriously injured during the battle for the school. It was his father, Kazbek Misikov, who neutralized the shells installed in the gym by terrorists.
Now representatives of the Mothers of Beslan organization came out in support of Batraz Misikov.
“The whole story with his comment about changing the name of the street is just the opinion of a person reflecting on the past and the future. This is just a subject for discussion, and not for initiating an administrative case”, the organization said in a statement.
For more than 15 years, the “Mothers of Beslan” have been seeking an objective investigation of the tragedy and bringing to justice not only terrorists but also representatives of the authorities.
Former hostages and graduates of this Beslan school created a petition in support of the blogger.
“Lenin must be protected”
While Batraz Misikov is awaiting trial, a wave of propaganda is growing in Vladikavkaz in defense of the “Leninist heritage”.
Doctor of Historical Sciences Berta Tuaeva said that Lenin Street will soon turn 100 years old and suggested that the anniversary be celebrated with commemorative events.
“Lenin Street was first called Dvoryanskaya, in 1925 it became the Lenin Street […] Historical roots must be protected and commemorative events should be held in their honor”, Tuaeva said.
Commenting on the initiative of the activist Gazzaev to rename the street, she said that “this is beyond criticism”:
“God forbid, tomorrow he will still ask to demolish the monument to Lenin on Prospekt Mira”/
Sidaemon criticized communists once again:
“Lovers of Lenin in North Ossetia are oppressed so much that the entire center of Vladikavkaz was blocked for the sake of celebrating the anniversary of the ridiculous mocking of the Soviet pioneers. My trial will also be held in the Leninsky District Court”.
