Wednesday, June 3, 2026- A bust of Felix Dzerzhinsky, the founder of the Soviet secret police, has been installed at a former children’s health camp in Russia’s Sverdlovsk region, now being converted into a “patriotic sports camp.” 

The monument was unveiled at the site of the former Chayka children’s camp near Nizhny Tagil, where the facility is being rebranded under a new name and purpose tied to youth training and ideological education. The installation has drawn attention because of its location in a space previously dedicated to children’s recreation.

The bust ceremony included local officials and supporters of the project, and a relative of Dzerzhinsky reportedly attended the unveiling. The camp’s owner acquired the property in 2023 and has been steadily transforming it into a structured program combining sports training with patriotic instruction, reflecting a broader trend in Russia toward expanding historical and ideological symbolism in youth spaces.

The move comes amid a wider resurgence of public monuments and institutional references to Dzerzhinsky across Russia, where his image has increasingly been restored in official and semi-official spaces linked to security and state tradition. 

Critics say such installations in youth environments are particularly sensitive, while supporters frame them as part of national identity building. The latest bust adds to a growing list of symbolic restorations that continue to reshape how Soviet-era figures are publicly remembered today.