The removal of the Dzerzhinsky monument located in Lubyanka Square, Moscow, on August 22, 1991, became one of the significant symbols of the collapse of the Soviet party-state security system. On that day, the crowd gathered in front of the KGB headquarters called for an attack on the building, while authorities prevented direct intervention due to concerns that the monument might damage the metro station. Democratic politicians calmed the crowd and ensured the official removal of the monument. The monument was lifted by cranes and moved to Muzeon Art Park.
While it was thought that the Soviet KGB and Dzerzhinsky had been erased from the historical stage, on April 22, 2026, Vladimir Putin renamed the FSB Academy as Felix Dzerzhinsky and emphasized his contributions to state security. Although it seemed that the KGB personnel regained power in the post-Soviet period, there were disagreements within the democratic opposition regarding lustration. Steps were taken in 1991-1992 to rehabilitate victims of political repression; however, different assessments continue regarding the scope and numbers.
The Russian Constitutional Court's 1992 definition of the Soviet regime as a system that used unlimited power became one of the fundamental statements shaping the new state's approach to the Soviet past. Although changes occurred in the symbols and names of security services, December 20 continued to be observed as the professional day of security employees. Putin's reopening of the monument to Yuri Andropov, the former leader of the KGB, during his tenure as FSB director in 1998-1999, and some symbolic returns to the Soviet era indicate that the Soviet legacy holds a complex place in Russia's new political identity.
These developments bring new debates about Russia's security services and historical memory.
