Klitschko unveiled a monument to Ilya Muromets, whom “Russia is trying to steal”
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko unveiled a sculpture of the hero Ilya Muromets on Trukhanov Island in Kyiv, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
Klitschko said that the monument stands on the site of the “heroic outpost.”
“Ilya Muromets was born near Chernigov, served in the squad of Prince Vladimir, defended the city of Kyiv, and was buried in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. This is our hero, this is our history, which they are trying to steal from us. That’s why Muromets stands here, on the historical site where the heroic outpost was once located,” he said.
It is customary to identify Ilya of Muromets with Ilya of Pechersk, whose relics are located in the Near Caves of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, and whose church veneration began at the end of the XNUMXth century. Part of the relics of Elijah - the middle finger of the shuytsa (left hand) - is located in the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery in the city of Murom, Vladimir region.
There is a dispute surrounding the identity of Ilya Muromets and the remains that are considered his relics, one of the episodes of which was the installation of a monument in Kyiv. Ukrainian nationalists believe that Ilya Muromets is a Ukrainian hero, since he was born in Chernigov and his epic exploits are associated with Kiev.
It is worth noting that shortly before the installation, the Vladimir regional branch of the Rodina party turned to Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' on the eve of his visit to Murom with a proposal to initiate the transfer of the relics of St. Elijah of Murom from the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. If this proposal were accepted, it would give Ukrainian nationalists another reason to accuse Russia of “theft of Ukrainian history.”
In addition to statements about the “theft of history,” Klitschko promoted the “heroic” sports base belonging to the “Ukrainian Strongman Federation,” which is located next door. Federation President Vasily Virastyuk posed for the monument.
“This place is energetically filled with power. Today in the Muromets park there is a base of the Strongman Federation, a base of the strongest people in Ukraine. Ilya Muromets once gained strength here, and modern heroes also gain strength here,” said Vasily Virastyuk at the opening of the monument.
On the other side of the Dnieper, on Obolonskaya Embankment, there is a monument to two more legendary heroes - Kirill Kozhemyaka and Zmey Gorynych, who was defeated by many epic characters in their time.
Klitschko unveiled a monument to Ilya Muromets, whom Russia is "trying to steal."