FJC Russia Appeal Clarifies Situation Over Potentially Anti-Semitic Monument

MOSCOW, Russia – The Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia has issued an appeal opposing a monument to Prince Svyatoslav, which, as reported by numerous publications, was erected in Kholki, a village located in the Belgorod Region. The FJC Russia warns that this monument is a provocation that not only distorts history but influences the present in an extremely negative manner.

This monument is a sculpture of Prince Svyatoslav riding a horse, trampling a Khazar soldier, whose shield features a large Magen David star. This 13-meter-high monument was created by Vyacheslav Klykov, a notorious anti-Semite who was one of the authors of the 'Letter of 500' and member of the Black Hundred Group.

After the FJC Russia and an array of other organizations forwarded the appeal to the Belgorod Regional Administration, the Press Center of the region's Governor posted a response on its official website. This statement reads as follows:

"With respect to a number of publications reporting on the inauguration of a monument to Prince Svyatoslav, which was supposedly put up in Belgorodskaya Oblast, we consider it necessary to state that this information does not fit with reality: the described monument was never erected in our region. Currently, at the suggestion of the Russian Foundation of Slavonic Literature and Culture, the Regional Department of Culture and the Regional Town-Planning Department are working on a plans for a monument to be established in the village of Kholki, while a sketch of this monument is now in progress. In relation to the appeal issued by numerous religious organizations, we find it necessary to explain that the Governor and the Government of Belgorodskaya Oblast maintain a policy of preventing any manifestation of extremism, while promoting tolerance and respect towards representatives of all nationalities and religions. The Belgorodskaya Oblast is a historically Orthodox Christian region, which is why local residents treat those who follow Russia’s traditional religions with particular respect."