A St. Petersburg memorial to Apple Inc. founder Steve Jobs has been put up for auction after it was dismantled as "gay propaganda" in the aftermath of successor Tim Cook's public coming out.
The group of companies that erected the statue, the Western European fiscal union, also known as ZEFS, said Monday that about half of those asked at a company forum were opposed to returning the monument to its original stand and instead chose to auction it off, Russian News Service reported Monday.
The monument — a giant iPhone — has now been put up for sale, with a starting price of 5 million rubles ($94,000). Visitors to the fiscal union's website are encourage to bid on the lot, though no bids had been placed as of this article's publication on Monday afternoon.
ZEFS erected a two-meter-high monument outside a St. Petersburg college in January last year to honor the Apple founder, who died in 2011 at the age of 56 following a battle with pancreatic cancer.
A day after Jobs' successor Cook came out as gay at the end of October, the union removed the statue, saying it contravened a Russian law that bans the promotion of nontraditional sexual relations to minors.
"In Russia, gay propaganda and other sexual perversions among minors are prohibited by law," ZEFS was cited as saying by Reuters, adding the memorial had been "in an area of direct access for young students and scholars."
In comments to Russian New Service on Monday, ZEFS head Maxim Dolgopolov said Cooks' sexuality had played a major role in deciding to remove the monument as well as concerns over the security of Apple products.
Citing U.S. leaker Edward Snowden, who in 2013 blew the whistle on the NSA's surveillance program, Dolgopolov said Apple products illegally transmitted data back to U.S. intelligence agencies and that users should instead buy products from other manufacturers.
Those wishing to bid on the Steve Jobs memorial can do so up until midday on Dec. 10.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
