Maltschik
M a ltschik ( Russian Мальчик , in German "boy", "boy"; * around 1996 , † end of December 2001 ) was a black and yellow mixed breed male who lived for several years in Moscow near a subway station until he was killed by a mentally ill passerby. The case attracted much attention from the Moscow public through newspaper publications, which a few years later resulted in a memorial to the street dog . The stylized bronze sculpture by Maltschik has stood in the counter hall of the Mendeleevskaya subway station , where he lived, since 2007 .
Life
Maltschik was one of the tens of thousands of street dogs that live on the streets of Moscow and in public buildings such as subway stations. It was given as a puppy to the station master of the Mendeleevskaya subway station by a visitor around 1996. From then on he lived at the entrance of the subway station, staying mainly in the pedestrian underpass leading to the station and in the entrance area of the station. During the five years of his life there, Maltschik became a favorite of the local residents, the subway staff and the shop assistants at the adjoining kiosks - he was considered a very peaceful and affectionate dog who liked to receive food and let people pet him. He also defended the underpass as his territory against other wild dogs, which traders and local residents also appreciated.
death
The incident, which led to the violent death of Maltschik, is described by eyewitnesses as follows: On Sunday evening shortly before the turn of the year 2001/02, Juliana Romanowa, a 21-year-old failed model from Pskov , left the U with her dog, a Staffordshire bull terrier -Bahnhof in the direction of the street. In the underpass, Maltschik barked at Romanowa's bull terrier. Instead of moving on, Romanova - completely unexpected to all eyewitnesses - apparently deliberately let go of her dog from the leash and set him on Malschik. While the two dogs were fighting, Romanova pulled a kitchen knife from her backpack and, in front of numerous passers-by, inflicted six stitches in the chest, stomach, back and neck area. When a kiosk owner tried to dissuade Romanova and the bull terrier from Malchik, she also threatened him with the knife. Shortly thereafter, Maltschik succumbed to his injuries.
consequences
After some of the eyewitnesses alerted the underground police, Romanova was provisionally arrested and interrogated at the police station, but was later released because the offense was of minor severity. This caused displeasure among residents of the subway station, who were dismayed by the loss of their favorite and Romanova's inexplicable aggressiveness.
By chance, a journalist from the daily Izvestia who lived in the area found out about the incident and published a detailed report about two weeks later, which also addressed the inadequate animal welfare provisions in Russian legislation.
After the publication of this article, the case caused an uproar throughout the city; more reports followed in the weeks that followed. Journalistic research revealed, among other things, that Juliana Romanova had apparently previously tortured abandoned dogs, as well as her own, by poisoning them, hitting them with iron bars, throwing them out of the window or poking their eyes out.
According to a number of reports in Izvestia, the event received more public attention than any comparable case before. A little later, under public pressure, investigations into animal cruelty were initiated against Romanova, who initially seemed to have got away with practically unpunished . A psychiatric examination carried out in February 2003 revealed that Romanova had suffered from paranoid schizophrenia at the time of the crime and was therefore insane. She was then sent to a psychiatric clinic in Pskov for compulsory treatment, from which she was released after about a year.
The monument
The coverage of the Maltschik case sparked a public debate over the tightening of Russian animal welfare laws. In this context, Izvestia journalist Irina Osjornaja, who reported on the Maltschik case, and several well-known artists who campaigned for animal welfare suggested erecting a monument to Maltschik in the Moscow Metro and thus also set a signal against the disregard of elementary animal rights.
After the metro administration had given its approval, a sponsorship initiative was set up to collect donations for the creation of the monument and to do public relations work. A number of well-known artists and cultural workers belonged to this initiative, including the authors Bella Akhmadulina , Andrei Bitow , Fasil Iskander , Yevgeny Evtuschenko and Anatoli Kim , the actors Armen Jigarchanjan , Lyubov Polishchuk and Konstantin Raikin , the rock musicians Andrei Makarewitsch ( Maschina Wremeni ) and Yuri Vremeni Shevchuk ( DDT ) and the human rights activist Stanislaw Markelow .
After enough donations had been collected, the sculpture was completed in 2004, but initially remained in the workshop until the final location was agreed. The members of the sponsorship initiative had insisted on erecting the memorial at the exact place where Malchik was killed, namely in the underpass at the entrance to the Mendeleevskaya metro station. This was rejected by the metro administration on the grounds that the sculpture there would have hindered the flow of passengers during rush hour. Ultimately, the underground station's counter hall, which is directly adjacent to the underpass, was chosen as the location. On February 17, 2007, the monument was ceremoniously unveiled in the middle of the hall. The date was chosen symbolically, as the year of the dog ended on this day according to the Chinese calendar .
The approximately half a meter high composition consists of a rectangular gray-green serpentinite base on which the bronze sculpture rests. This depicts a dog lying on a cloth, scratching its ear with its right hind paw as if it were driving out fleas . Together with the emaciated stature of the depicted dog (which, according to witnesses, does not correspond to the original, since Maltschik is said to have been about the size of a full-grown German Shepherd) this alludes to the neglect to which street dogs are often exposed. The head and muzzle of the sculpture are aligned in such a way that the dog looks at the viewer humbly and humbly from below, demonstrating both the affection of Malschik described by eyewitnesses and the general helplessness of domestic animals towards humans (and the resulting responsibility of the latter in dealing with animals ) can be expressed.
The following lettering can be found along three sides of the base: “ Compassion. Dedicated to humane treatment of homeless animals ”. In addition, the names of the authors of the sculpture are carved into the base: the sculptor Alexander Zigal , the painter Sergei Zigal and the architect Andrei Nalitsch ; his son Pyotr Nalitsch , who later became known as a composer and pop singer, also worked as a designer .
The monument to Maltschik is now considered a landmark of Mendeleevskaya Metro Station and is a visitor attraction.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Убили Мальчика , in: Iswestija , January 14, 2002
- ↑ Moscow's stray dogs , in: Financial Times , January 16, 2010
- ↑ karta-metro.ru
- ↑ a b c «Ну, подумаешь, собачку ножом пырнула!" , in: Izvestia, February 18, 2003
- ↑ Мальчик вернется , in: Rossijskaja gaseta , October 4, 2003
- ↑ Фотомодель-убийца собаки мечтала о работе в милиции , in: regnum.ru, November 10, 2005
- ↑ Место памятника собаке на станции метро "Менделеевская" должно быть согласовано. , In: December 8th, 2006 срnокнедельный
- ↑ Moscow's memorable monuments ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , in: The Moscow News , November 21, 2008
- ↑ Moskauer Künstlerbund: Description and analysis of the “Compassion” monument ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Первый в мире памятник бездомным животным удостоился первой награды , in: Uralpress.ru, March 12, 2007
