In 1995–1996 with the help from the Mayor of Saint Petersburg, Anatoly Sobchak, several other memorials of political repressions victims were opened in the city: the by Mihail Chemiakin in front of the Kresty Prison, and the at the Levashovo Memorial Cemetery. Both monuments were widely criticized by former political prisoners and social activists for unclear message and depiction of evil and violence. The municipal government announced in 1996 that it would build a monument based on the ideas of Edward Zaretsky, a Leningrad-based sculptor and a member of local Jewish community. He founded the 'Tsayar' artistic union and created such memorials as the monument to Jews, victims of political repressions (1997) at the Levashovo Memorial Cemetery. Memorial's co-founder publicly criticized the city administration in 1998 for ignoring the monument during the of the Romanovs, even though its route passed through Troitskaya Square.