On the night of August 24, 2012 in Yekaterinburg, unknown vandals desecrated the monument to the first Russian President Boris Yeltsin. The ten-meter stele with a bas-relief embossed on it was almost completely doused with blue liquid. The letters at the base of the monument, which make up the surname, were knocked down and stained. Hooligans have not yet been found.
A marble stele in memory of the first president of Russia was installed in Yekaterinburg on February 1, 2011, on the day of his 80th birthday. The author of the monument was the architect Georgy Frangulyan, and the initiator of its installation was the Boris Yeltsin Foundation and his family. Caring for the condition of the monument and its protection was the responsibility of this foundation, but the city authorities immediately offered their help in cleaning the monument, since this case has a great public response.
It should be noted that the vandals brought many difficulties to the cleaning services. The blue substance turned out to be ink that was deeply embedded in the surface of the porous white marble. Only the upper part of the monument remained intact, the rest of it is covered with blue spots of varying intensity. At present, Moscow restorers are working on the restoration of the monument, who have already sent samples of the dye to the capital. Based on its analysis, special reagents will be selected that can completely remove its traces on the marble surface. The cost of the restoration work, according to experts, will amount to several million rubles.
The hooligans were operating in the early morning, between 3 am and 8 am, when a patrol passing by noticed the destruction. Interior Ministry investigators have already opened a case under the article on vandalism, but those who defiled the monument have not yet been found. Not a single political group claimed responsibility for this offense, so it can be assumed that the reason for the act could be banal hooliganism or personal hostility.
If it is possible to bring to justice these irreconcilable fighters with unrequited monuments, under Article 214 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, they may face only 3 months of administrative arrest. Desecration of buildings and structures, damage to property in public places is subject to the article on vandalism.
