The destiny of an electronic monument in memory of Steve Jobs in St. Petersburg has attracted public attention this week after its owner, a Russian company named “West-European Financial Union” (ZEFS in Russian), withdrew it in an expression of its radical anti-US and anti-gay stance.
The monument had been placed last year in the yard of the St. Petersburg National Research University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics (ITMO).
Although the initial reason for the withdrawal was to repair the monument, ZEFS finally revealed entirely different motives.
“At one time, when we installed the monument, we bought into the name of the genius programmer Steve Jobs,” The Village.ru quoted ZEFS head Maxim Dolgopolov as saying. “Yet behind this, according to recent statements by Edward Snowden, were standing the US intelligence services, which have around the world – including Russia – distributed their devices that allow total surveillance of citizens.”
Apple CEO Tim Cook’s coming out last week became “the last straw” for Dolgopolov: “We considered (the monument) to be a direct propaganda of sodomy in the territory of the Russian Federation – contrary to the law of our country,” he said in a reference to a controversial law aimed at “protecting minors” against such propaganda.
Homophobic hysteria
“I would not want mine or your children to have the opportunity to hear the opinion of such so-called ‘influential people.’ We directly link the statement of Apple’s CEO with the company,” the businessman stated.
ZEFS decided to conduct a public online poll about the future of the monument. “If it comes back to its original place, its functionality most likely will change: there will be only a function to call or send a message to the US National Security Agency or Apple that the user has refused gadgets from this corporation.”
Fuelling the controversy, homophobic Russian politician Vitaly Milonov called to forbid dangerous gay propagandist Tim Cook to enter Russian territory – which however remains a mild suggestion compared to those of some other Russian public figures.
The ITMO administration reacted firmly to ZEFS’s initiative: “The monument doesn’t promote homosexuality, this is simply stupid,” stated rector Vladimir Vasilyev.
“When talking about information technologies, one should remember the genius inventor Alan Turing. Decades ago he committed suicide in England, where homosexuality was forbidden. Nevertheless, the Turing Award is now considered to be the most prestigious IT award in the world,” the rector said (see video).
The university is insisting that the Steve Jobs monument be returned. “This monument to Steve was our pride and a good place for students to gather in the yard. We admire Steve and the Apple company and we want our students to do the same for a better world. We are ready to provide funding for repair or a new monument,” ITMO’s PR manager Nataliya Ros told East-West Digital News.
Another suggestion came from Vkontakte. The social network offered to place the monument in the entrance hall of its St. Petersburg headquarters, the Russian media reported.
