Russian city unveils monument to Soviet secret police founder Felix Dzerzhinsky to the sound of ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’
The city of Nakhodka in Russia’s Far Eastern Primorsky region has become the latest locality in the country to put up a new statue of Felix Dzerzhinsky, founder of the Soviet secret police.
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An official report on the unveiling ceremony suggests there was little out of the ordinary, noting that the event was timed to coincide with Dzerzhinsky’s birthday and was attended by one of his relatives.
However, video footage from the ceremony reveals a peculiar musical choice at the moment of the unveiling: the main theme from Jesus Christ Superstar, the irreverent 1971 rock opera by English composer Andrew Lloyd Webber depicting the final days of Jesus Christ.
According to the outlet Lenta.ru, city authorities denied the music was from the musical, claiming that “fanfares always sound similar.”
Felix Dzerzhinsky oversaw the execution of hundreds of thousands of citizens during Russia’s 1917–1922 Civil War, a campaign commonly known as the Red Terror. There are more than 40 statues of him in cities across Russia today.
