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Thursday, 19.07.2007
Kirov Museum
Sergei Mironovich Kirow (real name Kostrykov) was one of the most famous leading members of the Soviet Communist Party. His fame, however, derives less from the high-ranking positions he held, than the dreadful political consequences of his murder.
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On 1st December, 1934, Kirov was shot dead in the Leningrad Party HQ. Stalin used this murder as an excuse to move against opposition in the party, state and military bureaucracies.
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The subsequent ‘Great Purge’ saw hundreds of thousands of Soviet citizens murdered. It is highly likely that Stalin did not merely exploit the murder for his own purposes, but actually instigated it.
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Kamennoostrovskj Prospekt 26/28
Nearest Metro: Petrogradskaya
Opening hours: 11.00am-6.00pm
Closed:
Wednesdays, last Tuesday of the month
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Only days after Kirov’s death, it was decided to rename cities, streets and even a group of islands in his honour. In contemporary St. Petersburg, a square, a district and the city’s largest stadium still bear his name.
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The museum occupies the former apartment of the First Secretary of the Leningrad Communist Party. All rooms except the bedroom have been reconstructed as they were in the year of Kirov’s death.
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The large number of personal possessions, and especially the study and the extensive private library with 20,000 volumes, give the visitor a good idea of Kirov’s daily routine.
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A shudder goes through most visitors on their seeing the Stalin portraits hanging on the walls. Kirov worshipped Stalin, and even went so far as to call him the greatest leader of all peoples and ages. A tragic misjudgement.
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A permanent exhibition is on display in the neighbouring apartment that concerns itself with the political career of the Leningrad party functionary. On the fifth floor, you can visit temporary exhibitions on topics from Soviet history.
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(hw/rUFO)
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