UNESCO considers removing World Heritage Status from the Kremlin due to the erection of a massive statue of Vladimir the Great

Persistent rumours suggest that UNESCO is currently considering removing the World Heritage Status of The Kremlin in Moscow. The reason is that Russian authorities are planning to erect a massive statue of the Ukrainian Grand Duke or King Vladimir the Great on the Borovitskaya Square. The statue was initially set to be 24 metres high and placed on Vorobyovy Gory (Sparrow Hills), visible throughout Moscow. After tens of thousands of Muscovites signed a petition against this location, the Moscow authorities voted to erect the statue on Borovitskaya Ploshchad, just outside the Kremlin wall.

According to The Moscow Times, the location was chosen after several internet surveys, in which more than 300.000 Muscowites took part.

The monument is scheduled to be unveiled on the 4th of November 2016 and is expected to cost RUB 94 million or $1.2 mill.

However, according to The Calvert Journal, UNESCO has grave reservations concerning the project, as “the installation of the monument on the Borovitskaya Square could have a negative impact on the outstanding universal value of the object”. Accordingly, it is suggested that in order “to eliminate the possibility of such effects, it is recommended that another location be chosen”.

Another demand from UNESCO is claimed to be a reduction of the monument’s size to the height of 8 metres. Judging from photos, the planned statue is designed in a tacky neo-nationalistic style reminiscent of the late 19th-century. Photos of the construction of the statue do not point to any planned reduction of size.

The statue is created by the so-called “People’s Artist of Russia”, sculptor Salavat Shcherbakov, who was also responsible for the statue of Alexander the I, which was unveiled in 2014. This statue has also been erected in front of the walls of the Kremlin. However, it does not measure more than app. 14 metres.

Contested Saint

Although partly of Scandinavian origin (his real name was Valdemar Sveinaldsson), Vladimir the Great (c. 958 – 1015) belonged to the Rurik dynasty.

In 972, after his father’s death, Vladimir was forced to flee to Scandinavia, where he succeeded in assembling a Varangian army with the help of a relative, Håkon Sigurdsson, who was the ruler of Norway. With this army, he regained control of Novgorod. Later, Vladimir was able to consolidate a realm covering modern-day Ukraine and further down towards the Black See. Originally a pagan, Vladimir converted to Christianity in 988 and was allegedly baptised in the Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014.

Vladimir is thus regarded as the Christianizer of the Kievan Rus. Some claim that he converted in order to be able to marry a legitimate daughter of the Byzantine Emperor, a so-called Porphyrogenita, a true purple princess. Thus, he succeeded, where even Otto II of the Holy Roman Empire failed to achieve this accolade. 

Until now, Vladimir has primarily been regarded as the national saint of Ukraine. However, since the Soviet era, the history of the Kievan Rus’ has been appropriated by the Russians as part of their national history. There is no doubt that by raising the gargantuan statue right in front of the Kremlin, Putin and his cronies wish in yet another way to pamper the Russian electorate (hence the official “story” of the alleged 300.000 Russians taking part in the vote). The statue is thus part of the constant spin, spewed out by the official Russian PR machine and supported by the Russian Orthodox Church, which last year (2015) resulted in widespread commemorative events celebrating this national “Russian” saint. Whether UNESCO has the gall to contest this plan will be seen. The decision will be taken at the meeting in June 2016.

Archaeology in Kremlin

The intriguing fact is that Moscow was, if anything, just a couple of huts when Vladimir – a Norwegian Viking, married to a Byzantine princess – converted to Christianity while ruling Kyiv in present-day Ukraine.

Next year will probably see an unreliable revision of this fact. Currently, the demolition of a building from 1934 is taking place inside the walls of the Kremlin. In itself, the building has no architectural value, and the plan is to have the area laid out as a park. 

The interesting bit is, however, that Stalin, when he made room for the building, had the two oldest monasteries inside the Kremlin torn down. The wish to rebuild these have not only been voiced by the Orthodox Church but also by Putin. Although it is believed that this wish will not be granted at present – due to the dire economic situation in Russia – the demolition will allow for a thorough archaeological excavation of this, the holiest ground in Mother Russia. In its review of the situation, Unesco has voiced som serious concerns.They read: “The mission strongly advises against the proposal for the reconstruction of the historic buildings, originally destroyed in 1929-1930, as this would have a serious impact on the OUV of the property, in particular its integrity and authenticity. In view of the potential important archaeological layers believed to date back to the 12th Century, the State Party should be encouraged to establish an archaeological park providing information and interpretation of the archaeological layers which to date have not been explored”

At Medieval Histories we are eagerly looking forward to the publication of the archaeological finds, which we bet will entail a revision of the oldest history of Moscow, bringing its date back to the time of Vladimir the Great.

We shall see…

UPDATE:

After the article was written, it became known that UNESCO did not remove the cherished status as world heritage. However, the construction of the two monasteries never took place and the project was abandoned In 2017

 

Karen Schousboe

SOURCE:

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