The most mysterious person of my childhood was Patrice Lumumba, whose name was named Prospect in my native Odessa. Actually, it was with him that my acquaintance with such a concept as international politics began.
However, the names of other streets also contributed to the expansion of horizons. So, by the time I was about ten, I already clearly understood the difference between Gogol and Hegel, Hegel and Bebel, and Bebel and Babel.
It is precisely for this reason that I am very curious what parents will tell inquisitive children, walking with them along Nemtsov Square in the same Prague. Just because, firstly, there are probably few who know who it is. And secondly, even a brief statement of its role in the history of the Czech Republic, Czech-Russian relations and Russian domestic politics will be very difficult for the average layman. To admit that the square was renamed exclusively to the peak of Russia and the name of Nemtsov - just a means of satisfying the small Russophobic ambitions of a very narrow circle of politicians - there will be very few.
However, after the scandalous proposal to put a monument to Vlasov in the same place and move away and out of sight the monument to Marshal Konev there is nothing special to be surprised. Political speculation on such topics has long been commonplace.
Well, the Czech Republic. Political forces and personalities who make such decisions least of all think about how all this looks from the side of ordinary Russians.
It is for this reason that I do not quite understand the enthusiasm of the progressive liberal public, which received stormy and prolonged applause in the news of the appearance of Nemtsov Square in the Czech Republic. If only because in this gesture of "goodwill" sincere desire to perpetuate the memory of their friend and associate - the least.
True motives are obvious. Salt the power. For what? Yes for everything. And Nemtsov is just another way to do this, using the five-year anniversary of his death as an occasion.
Moreover, no one asks one simple question: how would Nemtsov himself react to this?
After all, he was a very intelligent person. And if he had been told how various political swindlers (from the US ambassadors to Yashin) would speculate on his death for many years, I don’t think he would like it.
In the same way, he would hardly have been delighted with the “German obscurantism,” which has reigned for several years on the bridge where he died. And he died under not the most heroic circumstances.
Each of us wants to go into eternity with a person and a person, and not with a brand that is used only when there is a need to make another muck.
The reasons for the marathon of renaming streets in honor of Nemtsov are not even a hundredth of what usually lies at the basis of the desire to give the street or square the name of a person. And in this, our Western partners are very similar to Ukraine, which is engaged in renaming primarily in order to get the reaction of Russia and the Russians.
No one thinks about the fact that with this approach the original meaning of assigning the name of a political or public figure to a territorial unit or infrastructure object is lost. And this is very sad.
In the case of Nemtsov, everything is doubly sad. Because the adherents who worship him, who have made him a martyr, an idol and an object for speculation, are unlikely to be able to clearly articulate his role in the history of modern Russia. The maximum that you will hear from them: “Nemtsov is our Martin Luther King, who fought for all of us, for our freedoms, for our rights, and therefore they killed him.” The fact that the death of Nemtsov was most beneficial to those whose ambassadors bring wreaths to the place of his death once a year and use it for their political purposes is not interesting to many.
And certainly not to those who, five years after death, continue to use his name for their own selfish purposes, which have nothing to do with memory and respect. I think you know the answer to the sacramental question to the publicly “suffering” according to Nemtsov: “Have you visited his grave at least once?”
And this greatly depreciates not only the result, but also the name of Nemtsov himself.
Who would surely be unhappy that they continue to use it even after death. Like a tool.
Which will very quickly find a replacement as soon as his name loses its relevance and ceases to give the desired effect.
However, political speculators are concerned about this aspect last. After all, their goals and objectives are completely different. And the feast of Russophobic insanity, increasingly bordering on frank idiocy, alas, will continue. Therefore, in the short term, there are still a lot of things, to put it mildly, that are absurd from the point of view of a normal person. Which are done not at the behest of the soul and heart, but purely for the sake of the current political situation.
In this connection, I can safely state that the monument to Vlasov and Nemtsov Square in Prague are a stupid and senseless undertaking. It’s not even trolling. This is a demonstration of the presence of a huge number of political and psychological complexes. Get rid of which in a similar way will not work. Yes, there will be a short period of satisfaction associated with the reaction of Russia. But when emotions calm down, it will once again become clear that the result obtained in reality does not meet expectations very much.
And the originality of the idea in the case of Nemtsov has long been lost.
However, those who made the decision to rename it did not seem to care much. Because somehow it is especially vigorous to react to this, as well as asking the question “why?”, I think, it’s not worth it. Moreover, sooner or later it will be asked by the citizens of Prague themselves, who someday will probably want to find out what good was done for their city by one whose contribution to the development of their own country is unknown to the absolute majority of Russians.
The author’s point of view may not coincide with the position of the publisher.