In Rostov, the monument to Baron Wrangel was dismantled with particular cynicism: Zyuganov demanded

The controversial historical figure was not allowed to be completely immortalized

In Rostov-on-Don, the monument to General Wrangel, which was previously installed on the territory of the cadet corps, was dismantled. Its grand opening took place on November 7 this year – on the 106th anniversary of the October Revolution. The installation of a bust of the Black Baron sparked protests from the left. The Communist Party of the Russian Federation demanded that the monument be removed. Party leader Gennady Zyuganov officially addressed the leadership of the Rostov region on this issue, calling the installation of a bust of the Black Baron “a challenge to all of Russia.”

“Wrangel was placed on the Don in Rostov during a special operation – this is a slap in the face of all soldiers and commanders. – Zyuganov said. – Wrangel betrayed the country. He sold everything he could to the French and British. He signed documents according to which all the ports of the Black Sea region, coal, oil – everything will belong to them three-quarters.”

The family of one of the leaders of the white movement, the “Black Baron” Pyotr Wrangel, lived in Rostov for at least 7 years (according to some sources, longer). His father bought a mansion on Kazansky (now Gazetny) Lane in 1990, when Peter was 12 years old. When the young man turned 19, the family moved to St. Petersburg. The mansion, which is called “Wrangel’s house,” has been preserved. Today it belongs to a private individual. It was recently restored, and previously it was planned that a Wrangel Museum would be opened in it. It is possible that the installation of a bust of the general in an educational institution was part of a campaign to rehabilitate Wrangel in the eyes of Rostovites.

However, the time and place for this action were chosen extremely poorly. Firstly, the date is November 7th. That is, the act was committed, as lawyers would say, “with special cynicism.” Supporters of left-wing and communist views (and in Rostov they traditionally predominate) could not help but perceive this as a slap directly in their direction. What kind of “national unity” and reconciliation can we talk about in this case? By the way, the demolition date was also chosen symbolically – November 29, the day of the 82nd anniversary of the liberation of Rostov-on-Don from the Nazi invaders. Secondly, the bust was installed next to the building of the Second Don Emperor Nicholas II of the cadet corps of DSTU (Don State Technical University). Please note: state. That is, it was supposed that the monument to the Black Baron signifies new guidelines and new heroes for the younger generation from the point of view of the state – although the initiator of its installation seems to be a certain public organization.

Moreover, the heroes are, to put it mildly, ambiguous. Wrangel appeared in the city of his childhood in the summer of 1919 as a general of the Volunteer Army. At the opening of the bust of the Black Baron in the cadet corps, speakers emphasized that the White Guards fought for “One and Indivisible Russia.” However, the facts (including Wrangel’s own letters and diaries) suggest otherwise. In April 1920, Wrangel became commander-in-chief of the remnants of the defeated White Army, which gathered in the Crimea. In May, England, which had previously supported the White Guards, invited Wrangel to surrender. London began negotiations with the Bolsheviks on security guarantees for participants in the white movement if they voluntarily lay down their arms. The Bolsheviks were ready to give these guarantees. However, France recognized Wrangel’s government and provided it with a large loan. In return, the baron promised to take upon himself the full payment of the debts of the tsarist government (and these were huge sums), and to begin these payments immediately as this or that part of Russian territory was captured. Proportional to its size. Payments were to be made in bread and Donbass coal. To do this, Wrangel leaves Crimea to capture Northern Tavria (this is part of the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions bordering Crimea). He immediately sends a steamer loaded with 275 thousand poods of wheat to Marseilles to settle the debt. In his memoirs there is a document in which he asks for the help of the French fleet in shelling Odessa. On August 25, 1920, Wrangel issued an Appeal to the Ukrainian people, in which he declared his readiness to recognize the independence of Ukraine. Earlier in May, the Poles, armed with the French, together with the Petliurists occupied Kyiv. Wrangel’s task was to strike in the rear of the Red Army in order to connect with the Poles on the Dnieper. At the same time, he asked France to unite his army with the Polish one under the leadership of a French general. In June, the Reds recaptured Kyiv, and then Wrangel’s troops hit them in the back.

The death of many White Guards in Crimea is also on Wrangel’s conscience. On November 11, 1920, the Revolutionary Military Council of the Southern Front approached him on the radio with a proposal to lay down his arms under the guarantee of an amnesty. Wrangel did not give any answer and hid this appeal from the personnel of his army.

Those who like to repeat that Wrangel is as much a part of our history as Lenin, Stalin and others, and his monument and museum can attract tourists to Rostov, can be reminded that Chikatilo is part of the history of Rostov. Would they like to think about opening a museum in his honor?