Russian state media outlets documented the appearance of a small memorial shrine before the U.S. embassy in Moscow this week in honor of conservative American commentator Charlie Kirk, assassinated during a public talk last week, and Iryna Zarutska, a Ukrainian immigrant killed during her work commute in North Carolina.
Russian citizens reportedly added to the memorial as they passed by, leaving flowers and candles. Reports did not clarify who initially erected the shrine. The appearance of the reports in pro-regime Russian news outlets, such as Tass and RIA Novosti, indicate that strongman Vladimir Putin is not trying to censor its emergence. Tass described unknown private individuals building the memorial by adding photographs, small messages, and other items on Wednesday.
The Moscow Times reported that some of the messages left at the memorial praised Kirk as “Christian, conservative, human.” One message allegedly featured a quote “attributed to Kirk” supporting Russia’s claim to Crimea, but “it was not immediately clear when or if Kirk made the statement.”
In life, Kirk was both critical of President Joe Biden’s lavish expenditures on the Ukrainian military and unequivocally opposed to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, effectively arguing that the war was not one for America to fight. During a conversation at one of his public college appearances in 2023, Kirk answered a question on the Russian invasion of Ukraine by stating, “Putin is wrong to invade and we’re wrong to arm [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky.”
Kirk rejected the idea that Russia was forced into invading Ukraine.
“I think that goes too far. Invading a sovereign country is not morally acceptable in my eyes,” he replied. “If you wanted to have eastern Ukraine be part of Russia, which they want to be, then host elections and all these other – you don’t start bombing random villages and displacing people — that’s not right.”
Charlie Kirk was the founder of Turning Point USA, a nationwide political organization empowering young conservatives, particularly focused on college campuses. He hosted a regular internet program and was, at the time of his death, on a tour of college campuses promoting civil debate. Kirk regularly engaged in civil debate personally with college students, particularly encouraging left-leaning students to challenge his ideas. Kirk was also an enthusiastic advocate for Christianity and traditional social values such as marriage and parenthood. He is survived by his wife and two children. He was 31 years old.
A man law enforcement officials have identified as Tyler Robinson allegedly shot Kirk in the neck during an appearance on September 10 at Utah Valley University before a crowd of nearly 2,000 people who had assembled to listen to Kirk speak and debate. Kirk was answering a question about the rise in transgender people engaging in violence when he was shot. Reports based on police investigations have since found that Robinson was in a romantic relationship with a man who claimed to be transgender and was interested in deviant cartoon animal fetish content online.
While focused primarily on empowering conservatives in America, Kirk was interested in international affairs and was active and beloved around the world. Memorials like the one in Moscow have emerged at American embassies around the globe and conservatives throughout the world have organized candlelight vigils and prayer sessions for the activist and commentator.
In Seoul, multiple memorials emerged throughout the city, at the iconic Sungnyemun Gate and the statue of American Gen. Douglas MacArthur that Kirk had visited shortly before his death. Kirk traveled to South Korea for the first time in early September to attend an event called “Build Up Korea” to galvanize young conservatives following the victory by radical leftist President Lee Jae-myung in June’s special election.
“Rest in peace and God’s hands will help your family and you. Your voice will be resonated across the world; inspiring many young conservative patriots in South Korea. Thank you and God Bless you,” one message left at a Kirk memorial in Seoul read.
In Madrid, young conservatives who remembered Kirk for inviting their groups to Turning Point events also organized a vigil centered around the American embassy.
Kirk often commented on Latin America and was eulogized by several prominent conservative leaders, including Argentine libertarian President Javier Milei.
“He was the victim of an atrocious assassination in the middle of a wave of left-wing political violence in the entire region,” Milei wrote in his statement expressing condolences. “The left is always, at all times and in all places, a violent, hate-filled phenomenon. The whole world lost an incredible human being.”
Mourners similarly gathered in Sydney, Australia; Berlin, Germany; and Pretoria, South Africa.
Several large-scale events, including a funeral, for Kirk are scheduled to take place throughout the United States this weekend.
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