June 17, Pozirk. Belarusian State University’s Lyceum, one of the most prestigious high schools, has been named after the first Soviet secret police chief, Felix Dzerzhinsky, the school’s Telegram channel says, describing Dzerzhinsky as “the prominent native of the Belarusian lands.”
Lyceum principal Taćciana Mamčyc, appointed in September 2023, came up with the idea in March.
Belarus-born Dzerzhinsky was involved in political reprisals in the Soviet Union.
The move shows that authorities are set to “strengthen neo-totalitarian ideology in education and assume control over all educational institutions,” said Taćciana Ščytcova, in charge of education and research at the office of Belarusian opposition leader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja.
“The regime’s message is cynical and explicit: what was previously associated with freedom will now be linked to Cheka’s founder,” she added, wondering if BSU Rector Andrej Karol would be willing to rename the university after Josef Stalin.
The Belarusian town of Kojdanava, Minsk region, was renamed Dziaržynsk after Dzerzhinsky in the 1930s.
Dzerzhinsky’s monument decorates the KGB building in downtown Minsk.
Also read: BSU Lyceum students taken to firing range under KGB supervision
