Peskov Comments On Monument Removals In US, Calls Similar Period In Russia 'Not Brilliant'

Peskov Comments on Monument Removals in US, Calls Similar Period in Russia 'Not Brilliant'

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia had also experienced "not the most brilliant period" in its history, when monuments of prominent figures were demolished, in comments concerning the situation in which a recent proposal was made in the US to take down a monument to the governor of Russian settlements in North America, Alexander Baranov

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th June, 2020) Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia had also experienced "not the most brilliant period" in its history, when monuments of prominent figures were demolished, in comments concerning the situation in which a recent proposal was made in the US to take down a monument to the governor of Russian settlements in North America, Alexander Baranov.

The Russian Community Council of the United States on Sunday issued an online petition against plans to demolish the statue of Alexander Baranov, who was the first Russian governor of Alaska and the founder of Sitka city in the late 18th-early 19th century. According to the petition, the removal of the monument proposed by city residents will "erase important pages of Alaska's rich history and deal a major blow to Russian American heritage and cross-cultural engagement."

"As for the demolition of monuments, now it has become a widespread phenomenon. You know that in our country there was also a period when we were demolishing monuments, and it was not the most brilliant period of our history," Peskov told reporters.

On Friday, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on the protection of the country's monuments, which have become a major target for protesters during a month of violent clashes and demonstrations following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody on May 25.

According to the order, those found guilty of vandalizing statues and monuments could face 10 years in jail.

In many cities across the country, statues depicting former Confederate generals, presidents who owned slaves, and Christopher Columbus, the fifteenth-century Italian explorer who was said to have discovered North America, have been targeted by protesters.