A mural depicting Dzerzhinsky and Beria is planned for Cherepovets.

A sketch of a mural that they want to place on the end of a multi-story building in Cherepovets, published by the Vologda governor Georgy FilimonovAccording to him, the idea came from city hall employees.

Mural: who do they want to depict?

The mural is planned to feature portraits of Felix Dzerzhinsky, whose achievements, according to officials, include "the fight against homelessness," Anatoly Lunacharsky ("the fight against illiteracy"), and Lavrentiy Beria ("the development of science and industry").

“Outstanding historical figures who made their enormous contribution to the formation and strengthening of our Great State, — wrote Filimonov. “A confirmation of our approach to perceiving history as a holistic and indivisible interconnection of eras.”

Dzerzhinsky and the Cheka: what is known

Over the past year, monuments to Dzerzhinsky have been unveiled in several regions. He was one of the founders of the Soviet state security agencies, the Cheka, the predecessor of the NKVD. It was under his rule that the Red Terror unfolded, with mass arrests and extra-judicial executions.

Beria headed the NKVD from 1938 until the end of the war. Under his leadership, executions, mass deportations of peoples, and the construction of the Gulag continued. He was executed in 1953 on charges of treason and terrorism. In 2022, the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of Russia refused to rehabilitate Beria due to his involvement in political repression.