Beyond the Statute of Limitation

On March 17 in Kronstadt an action called "Beyond the statute of limitation" was held. It was dedicated to the 85th anniversary of Kronstadt s mutiny or so called "Kronstadt s events of 1921" when an armed rebellion against the Soviet leadership broke out. The rebellion was suppressed and thousands of rebels were executed by shooting.

The project was planned as a step to reconciliation of the society. Up to 1994 the official opinion about the events that happened in Kronstadt in 1921 had a single meaning. They were considered as a counterrevolutionary mutiny, prepared by the White Guards, Socialist Revolutionary Party, Mensheviks and anarchists, who were actively supported by some foreign forces. The documents concerning the event were classified as secret.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union many secret documents became available to the public, thus overestimation of the events could begin. On 10 January 1994 by an edict of the president of the Russian Federation all the participants of Kronstadt s events of 1921 were acquitted and all the repressive measures taken on them afterwards were considered illegal and contradictory to human rights. Moreover, according to the edict, a memorial, dedicated to the participants of Kronstadt s events of 1921 should be established.

However not all accept the new vision and there are still many different points of view on this event. The action consisted of a theatre performance, based on historical events, in which author, Tatyana Zakipnaya, tried to show the point of view at the mutiny from both sides, to reflect the historical and economic situation at that moment, tried to explain the ideological trends of that time. The performance was highly rated by all the spectators.

Apart from that, the citizens were able to see an exhibition of photographs and documents illustrating the events and a multimedia undertaking: "Kronstadt's time". Late in the evening a dirge to those who felt a victim to the mutiny was served.

The organisers of the event hope that they succeeded in helping people with different views at the mutiny to make one step towards each other and to understand the causes of this confrontation, which was so important for our city and played a significant role in the history of whole our country.