Khimki War Memorial

Khimki War Memorial is a memorial to two Soviet pilots and four Red Army soldiers in Novoluzhinskoe cemetery, Khimki, Russia.

The memorial and the graves were originally located near Leningradskoye Shosse, a major highway leading from Moscow to the international Sheremetyevo Airport. The remains of the pilots and soldiers were exhumed under the sanction of Khimki authorities in April 2007, and reburied later with military honours to a newly built memorial on the Alley of Heroes in the Novoluzhinskoe cemetery, in the centre of Khimki.

"Removal" controversy

The original "demolition" of the war memorial on April 18 created a controversy in Russia.cite news
title = Спор о берцовой кости
language = Russian
publisher = Nezavisimaya Gazeta
date = 2007-05-24
url = http://www.ng.ru/ng_politics/2007-05-24/13_bones.html
accessdate = 2007-06-07] Several sources reported that the remains of the war heroes were lost. [cite news
title = На месте бывшего захоронения героев Великой Отечественной войны остались брошенные кости
language = Russian
publisher = Novye Izvestiya
date = 2007-04-20
url = http://www.newizv.ru/print/68316
accessdate = 2007-05-10] According to an early report, officials used bulldozers to demolish the memorial, leaving some of the remains on site.cite news
title = War Dead Exhumed Over Prostitutes
publisher = The Moscow Times
date = 2007-04-20
url = http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2007/04/20/014.html
accessdate = 2007-05-10] Several sources reported that the remains of the war heroes were lost. [cite news
title = На месте бывшего захоронения героев Великой Отечественной войны остались брошенные кости
language = Russian
publisher = Novye Izvestiya
date = 2007-04-20
url = http://www.newizv.ru/print/68316
accessdate = 2007-05-10] cite news
title = Mystery Swirls in Khimki Over Whereabouts of War Remains
publisher = The Moscow Times
date = 2007-04-20
url = http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2007/04/28/014.html
accessdate = 2007-05-10] [cite news
title = Russian parliament urges political, economic sanctions for Estonia
publisher = The Raw Story
date = 2007-04-27
url = http://rawstory.com/news/dpa/Russian_parliament_urges_political__04272007.html
accessdate = 2007-05-10] This was later proved to be not true.

Among the reasons for the relocation the officials of Khimki cited the complaints about prostitutes hanging around at night. Another incentive for the removal of the graves was the need to widen the highway. [cite news
title = Провокаторы
language = Russian
publisher = Khimki Administration
date = 2007-04-18
url = http://www.himki.ru/news_2541_d18.04.2007.html
accessdate = 2007-05-10]

The communist columnist, Anatoly Baranov, argued that it was the prostitutes who were to be lifted, not the veterans. [cite news
title = Героев выкинули вместо проституток
language = Russian
publisher = KPRF
date = 2007-04-18
url = http://www.cprf.ru/news/articles/we/48715.html
accessdate = 2007-05-10] On Sunday, April 22, a group of members of the Union of Communist Youth staged a protest at the site. The militsiya dispersed the meeting with force, as it was not sanctioned by the authorities. Several of those taking part were arrested; they later claimed to have been beaten and declared a hunger strike. [cite news
title = Милиционеры избили защитников воинских захоронений в Химках
language = Russian
publisher = Агентство Национальных Новостей
url = http://www.annews.ru/news/detail.php?ID=95152
date = 2007-04-23
accessdate = 2007-04-29] cite news
title = Botched reburial of veterans in Moscow prompts Russian to ask: "why are we complaining about the Estonians?"
publisher = Eesti Elu
url = http://www.eesti.ca/main.php?op=article&articleid=16030
date = 2007-04-26
accessdate = 2007-05-10]

The Khimki war memorial relocation incident was widely and not always appropriately [cite news
title = Парламентарии: Химки - не Тынисмяги
language = Russian
publisher = Regions.ru
date = 2007-05-07
url = http://www.regions.ru/news/2074065/
accessdate = 2007-05-10] [cite news
title = Мелкие пакости
language = Russian
publisher = Your Day (newspaper)
date = 2007-05-10
url = http://www.tden.ru/articles/012987/
accessdate = 2007-05-10] used in relation to the Bronze Soldier of Tallinn controversy at the time. [cite news
title = Блоггер раскрыл ложь СМИ о Братской могиле
language = Russian
publisher = Nezavisimaya Gazeta
date = 2007-05-24
url = http://www.ng.ru/ng_politics/2007-05-24/13_bones.html
accessdate = 2007-09-21]

Reburial

On 6 May 2007, the major TV channels of Russia showed the footage of the reburial of the exhumed remains at the Novoluzhinskoe cemetery, located in the centre of the city. [cite news
title = Памятник советских воинов в Химках. Справка
language = Russian
publisher = RIA Novosti
date = 2007-04-20
url = http://www.rian.ru/spravka/20070420/64026220.html
accessdate = 2007-05-10] The solemn ceremony was attended by about 1,000 people, including many veterans. An armoured carrier led the funerary procession. "The fallen heroes were remembered with a triple gun salvo from a Moscow Military District regiment." [cite news
url = http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2007/05/06/russian_pilots_reburied_in_solemn_ceremony/
title = Russian pilots reburied in solemn ceremony
publisher = United Press International
date = 2007-05-06
accessdate = 2007-05-10]

References

See also

* Khimki
* Bronze Soldier of Tallinn