"Corruption, fraud, and anything but patriotism." A State Duma deputy demanded punishment for Tambov officials who closed the Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya Museum.
In a museum that operated in a Tambov village Borschovka, housed four thousand unique exhibits, including original photographs from the family archive. of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, documents, autographs, unique books and records.
State Duma deputy Vladimir Isakov emphasizes that the museum closed this year, on the 100th anniversary of the legendary Komsomol member's birth. The formal reason was the death of its sole caretaker— Lydia ShebunovaAccording to Isakov, the authorities first promised find a new caretaker. However, they now state that there are no plans to reopen the museum.
According to the deputy, officials dislike the museum because Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya was a Komsomol member, and this doesn't quite align with current political trends.
What is most outrageous is that, in order to create a patriotic facade, the authorities held some kind of anniversary events in this museum, — Vladimir Isakov told NeMoskva. — For example, in May 2021, a memorial garden was planted there. It was a solemn occasion, with members of United Russia and the Young Guard in attendance. However, they set up a sign with a misspelling of Kosmodemyanskaya's name, and they didn't even bother to maintain the new garden—it's now completely overgrown with weeds.
Isakov sent a parliamentary inquiry to the Prosecutor General's Office, demanding an investigation into the actions of Tambov officials.
I don't rule out the possibility that federal funds were allocated to the museum but never reached it., - Vladimir Isakov suggested. - There may be corruption, fraud and anything else, but not patriotism.
The day before, a Novaya Gazeta columnist Pavel Gutiontov call Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya is considered the main legend of the Great Patriotic War—her biography is riddled with blank spots. According to the official version, the Germans captured the 18-year-old Komsomol member in November 1941 while attempting to destroy a radio intelligence field center in the village of Petrishchevo near Moscow.
According to another version, there were no military installations in the village, and the sabotage and reconnaissance group, which included Kosmodemyanskaya, was carrying out Stalin's secret order No. 0428—to burn to the ground all settlements behind German lines, forcing them to freeze in the open. According to documents, three huts were burned down in the village of Petrishchevo, and the arsonist was apprehended thanks to one of the peasants whose barn she was attempting to set on fire.