Fighting for Freedom of Assembly at Triumfulnaya Square
Triumfalnaya Square is located in the Central Administrative district of Moscow, and is a heavily-frequented location. Unlike the other squares mentioned in this exhibition, it is open-faced, and visible from a freeway passing by. It features a statue of Vladimir Mayakovsky (1893-1930), a Russian poet and playwright who expressed strong ideological support for the Communist Party and for Lenin.
This square’s significance as a public space has emerged from the monthly “Strategy-31” protests that take place in Triumfalnaya Square. Strategy 31 argues for the freedom of assembly, based on Article 31 of the Russian Constitution, and demonstrates on the 31st of every month with a 31st day, starting on 31 July 2009.(1) The police and activists have continuously struggled with each other to lay a claim on this space. For years, every request to demonstrate in this square was denied permission on the grounds that other activities were already scheduled to take place at the square at the same time and date. In 2010, the government started a very slow, and small-scale construction by the statue of Mayakovsky, but roped off the entire square(2). Furthermore, protesters have been detained almost every month.
While these protests have occurred on a relatively smaller scale than the others discussed in this exhibit, the regularity by which Strategy-31 protests occur has allowed them to puncture enough small holes in the identity of this place to permanently mark it. Just recently renovated, perhaps Triumfalnaya Square did not previously hold the same cultural, political, or religious significance that the other protest sites in this exhibition have throughout history, but it has become known as the venue of Strategy 31 activism.
Citations
(1) Harding, Luke. “The Russian protestors who won’t give up.” The Guardian, 30 Aug 2010.
(2) Ibid.