Malchik
Malchik (Russian: Мальчик, "little boy") (died 2001) was a black mongrel stray dog living in Moscow, Russia. For about three years, Malchik lived at the Mendeleyevskaya station on the Moscow Metro. Malchick became a popular station "resident" among rail employees and commuters, and territorially protected the station from drunks and other dogs.[1] Malchik was killed when a 21-year-old woman Yulia Romanova (who presented herself as fashion model[2]), stabbed him with a kitchen knife.[1] The incident sparked a wave of public outrage regarding the treatment of animals, and, in 2007, a monument was erected in Malchik's honour at Mendeleyevskaya station.[3]
Death
On a winter evening in 2001,[4] 22-year-old Yulia Romanova was passing through Mendeleyevska station with her pet Staffordshire Bull Terrier. They encountered Malchik in a pedestrian underpass, and the stray dog territorially barked at the pair.[1] One report holds that Romanova set her dog on the sleeping Malchik.[5] Romanova reached into her purse, removed a kitchen knife, and stabbed Malchick six times in the back, chest and stomach.[5] The dog died several minutes later. Romanova was arrested, tried, and underwent one year of psychiatric treatment.[1]
Monument
In 2007, a monument entitled "Compassion"[3] (or "Sympathy"[5]) was erected at Mendeleevskaya station. It was erected on the night of 15/16 February, 2007 and offically unveiled on February 17.[3] A bronze sculpture of Malchik was placed on a monolithic pedestal of serpentine. Among the artists responsible for the monument were sculptor Alexander Tsigal, artist Sergey Tsigal, architect Andrey Nalich, and designer Peter Nalich.[3] The unveiling ceremony was attended by notable artists, many of whom had donated money for the monument's installation, including Andrey Makarevich, Mikhail Shirvindt, Veniamin Smekhov, Oleg Anofriev, Ludmila Kasatkina and Sergey Yursky.[3]
References
- ^ a b c d Susanne Sternthal (2010-01-16). "Moscow's stray dogs". The Financial Times. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
- ^ Contrary to many news reports, Romanova was not a professional model: she made only one occasional shot with a Russain modeling agency "Art-Site"; see "Ну, подумаешь, собачку ножом пырнула"
- ^ a b c d e "The unveiling of "Compassion" monument to stray pets". Moscow Metro Official Site. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
- ^ "Man brutally kills pregnant dog for no particular reasons". Pravda.ru. 2008-11-19. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
- ^ a b c "A group of Russian artists shocked with the young girl's brutality initiated the making of a monument to the killed dog". Pravda.ru. 2005-11-09. Retrieved 2010-04-22.