RIDDER, Kazakhstan -- Two years ago, officials in Ridder, a city in northeastern Kazakhstan, decided to erect a monument in honor of Filipp Ridder, the 18th- and 19th-century mining engineer for whom the town is named.
Public opinion was sharply divided, with supporters arguing that Ridder -- who discovered a significant mineral deposit that led to the city's founding -- deserved such recognition, while opponents saw the monument as a symbol of colonialism.
Following the public outcry, the monument was never installed, and the plinth -- where a statue of Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin once stood -- stands empty.
A City On The Border
Located just 50 kilometers from Russia, Ridder in recent years has endured challenges that brought it a measure of infamy. An accident at the local thermal plant left many of its residents without heat during frigid winter months, and the potential closure due to poor maintenance of Shanyrak, its only Kazakh-language school, are signs of a city struggling.
About 50,000 people officially live in the city, with nearly 74 percent being ethnic Russian, 20 percent Kazakh, and the rest mainly German, Tatar, and Ukrainian.
In 1941, just before the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union, the town was renamed Leninogorsk in honor of the founder of the U.S.S.R. During World War II, the city produced nearly half of the Soviet Union's high-quality lead.
Debates have continued over what monument should replace Lenin, with some advocating for a monument to the famous Kazakh poet Abai and others supporting a statue to the city's founder.
Who Was Filipp Ridder?
Filipp Filippovic Ridder was born in 1759 in St. Petersburg. A Russian explorer and mining engineer of German descent, he discovered a mine containing gold, silver, copper, and lead in 1786 in what is now northeastern Kazakhstan.
The city named after him bore his name from 1796 until it was changed to Leninogorsk in 1941 -- reverting back to Ridder in 2002 following a decree by then-President Nursultan Nazarbaev. The Lenin statue was removed, but the pedestal remained.
The Controversy
In 2022, a city commission decided to erect a monument to Ridder, producing a 3-meter statue at a cost of 30 million tenge ($64,000). The decision was made without public consultation, however, and sparked protests when its unveiling was announced.
While some residents welcomed the statue, others strongly opposed it.
Local activist Nazar Asainov recalls reading the news of the statue on Instagram.
"There were happy comments under the post announcing the statue would be unveiled on Republic Day. But I thought the city center was a place of honor among Kazakhs," Asainov says. "It is customary to seat a particularly respected person there. Ridder served the Russian Empire under Catherine II."
Amid the public outcry, the statue was never erected.
Hanging In A Garage
Irdan Gasin, who created the sculpture, says he's tired of dealing with it and can't wait to get rid of it.
"Ridder's statue is ready. For two years, it has been lying with us, as if it was bothering us," he says. "To be honest, it's getting in the way. I want to take it to the mayor's office to put it somewhere."
Opponents And Supporters Sound Off
Nadezhda Klimova, the former deputy chairwoman of Ridder's branch of the ruling Nur-Otan party (now called Amanat) -- which is the largest political party in Kazakhstan and has controlled the country since 1999 -- says a historical figure who left such a mark on the history of the region deserves a monument.
"Tell me, how does Ridder's monument spoil the appearance of the city or the history of the city?" an exasperated Klimova says, pointing to the empty pedestal. "To know and love, respect, and not rewrite or manipulate history. After all, our residents are not [all the same] people.
"If you start digging into history, [it] is really complex. Why succumb to some kind of brainwashing from the West when you have your own history?" she asks.
Klimova adds: "Now the younger generation has fallen under the tide of Americanization, is going crazy, is looking for those to blame in history who are not there.”
Local resident Mikhail Serebrennikov recalls a simpler life under the Soviet system where he believes people were more united and tolerant.
"I don’t know. It was somehow more friendly. The people were never divided into nationalities. And now we have, 'This is my city. You are actually in my Kazakhstan,'” he says. "I don’t know how this is not my Kazakhstan if I was born here."
Standing among tall grass and near a path is a monument to Sergei Kirov, a Bolshevik leader who helped establish Soviet power in eastern Kazakhstan in the last century. Last year, when an initiative to dismantle the Kirov monument was proposed, many residents opposed the idea. They took it upon themselves to repaint the old statue and repair the pedestal.
Local activist Nazar Asainov notes that with the town being so close to Russia, it feels the influence of Russian propaganda, especially since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
"When Kazakhs set up [special] yurts in Ukraine (called Yurts Of Invincibility and designed to help residents stay warm and charge their electronic devices during power outages caused by Russian attacks on infrastructure), some people claimed that 'they set up yurts for the Nazis,'" Asainov says.
Kuralai Sadykova, head of the city's Kazakh-language society, is also against the Ridder monument. She believes the protests reflect a broader decolonization process occurring in people's minds.
“Under the colonial policy, our ancestors were exterminated through starvation. Destroyed by war. Before this, there was oppression. Our grandparents, who saw all this, said, 'Be silent; if you don’t remain silent, you will not go far. Silence saves you from great trouble. Don’t talk. There’s no need to talk. Don’t ask and don’t demand.'"
Sadykova adds, "Decolonization means that every nation has the right to widely disseminate its spiritual values."
Celebrating Openness
Ridder Deputy Mayor Erbolat Oshakbaev says the monument is not about colonialization and that the city is welcoming to all.
"We are all citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and Kazakhstan is an independent state," he said.
As an example of how events in the city align with current state ideology, Oshakbaev cited the recently held Persian New Year celebrations.
"According to the presidential decree, the issue of celebrating Norouz for 10 days in a row was raised, and the people of Ridder supported this wholeheartedly. First, we held a special meeting with representatives of all ethnocultural organizations and members of the Kazakh-language society to discuss how to celebrate....
"Of course, Norouz was celebrated in Ridder before, but never on such a large-scale like this year," Oshakbaev said.
Was Money Wasted?
In Kazakhstan, there is a list of historical figures eligible to be recognized with monuments. Filipp Ridder is not on it.
In 2022, when the dispute over his statue arose, the institution for protecting historical and cultural heritage within the East Kazakhstan Regional Culture Department studied the issue and concluded that installing the Ridder statue would be "illegal" and subsequently barred it.
Nazar Asayinov, a Ridder resident, plans to sue the members of the commission who decided to install the monument. He argues that the 30 million tenge ($64,000) spent on the statue should be reimbursed by the commission members and also suggests changing the city's name.
"The 30 million [tenge] spent on the monument must be returned by the commission members. If they keep making costly mistakes [with public finances], what will be left? Or will everything be forgiven?" he asks.
"The name of the city needs to be changed urgently. What are Ridder's contributions to Kazakhstan?" Asayinov asks.
But Oshakbaev disagrees that the funds were wasted and is positive that a suitable location for the Ridder monument will eventually be found.
"This issue should be resolved through discussions with the population and in agreement with the commission," he says.
