Azernews.Az

By Abdul Kerimkhanov

Member of the Armavir City Council Alexei Vinogradov has said the memorial plaque to the Nazi collaborator Garegin Ter-Harutyunyan (Garegin Nzhdeh), installed in the Russian city of Armavir, was covered with black paint.

The Armavir regional and local authorities, as well as representatives of the Union of Armenians in Russia public organization, promised to dismantle the memorial plaque glorifying organizer of the so-called Armenian SS Legion Garegin Nzhdeh by November 11.

Earlier, Vinogradov has repeatedly said in case of failure to fulfill promises to dismantle the board, he will independently resolve this issue.

As a result of the inaction of the regional and local authorities, as well as the prosecution authorities, the board remained in the same place.

Vinogradov did not put up and expressed his active citizenship by covering the memorial plaque of Garegin Nzhdeh with black paint.

"Monuments to those who have become soiled in cooperation with the Third Reich insult the people who fought against the Nazi invaders. If Nzhdeh is a hero, then who are those people erecting memorial plaques glorifying him?" Vinogradov said.

Armavir residents demanded to dismantle the plaque back in 2017, sending a collective statement to local authorities, law enforcement agencies and prosecution authorities, however, the demands of local residents remained a dead letter.

The board to Armenian Nazi Garegin Nzhdeh was installed in 2012 in the territory of the Armenian Church.

Garegin Nzhdeh was former general of the Dashnak army that was responsible for massacring hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis and Jews in Azerbaijan back in 1918.

Garegin Nzhdeh during the World War 2 assisted the so-called Armenian SS Legion, whose units were involved in battles against the Soviet Army in the North Caucasus, and later on the Western Front. In 1948, he was convicted by the Special Council of the Ministry of State Security of the USSR for anti-Soviet activities and aiding Nazi Germany and sentenced to 25 years of imprisonment.

Earlier, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev confronted Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan over Nzhdeh’s glorification in Armenia, during his speech at meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of State in Turkmenistan on October 11, ahead of discussions for preparations for the Victory Day.

Aliyev said it was inadmissible to turn Nazi accomplices into "national heroes".

The incident in Armavir testifies that Russia is gradually accumulating an aversion to the glorification of Nazi collaborators, especially on the eve of the 75th anniversary of the Victory Day. Now, Russian citizens are also calling to judge those who erect monuments to the Nazis in Russia.

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Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94

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