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Demolition of monuments to Vladimir Lenin in Ukraine

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A falling Lenin Monument in Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine
Statue of Lenin toppled near Stanytsia
The statue of Lenin in Kharkiv on 29 September 2014
Lenin monument in Kyiv on 9 December 2013
Clockwise from top left:

The demolition of monuments to Vladimir Lenin in Ukraine started during the fall of the Soviet Union and continued to a small extent throughout the 1990s, mostly in some western Ukrainian towns, though by 2013 most Lenin statues in Ukraine remained standing. During Euromaidan in 2013–2014, the destruction of statues of Lenin become a widespread phenomenon and became popularly known in Ukraine as Leninopad (Ukrainian: Ленінопад, Russian: Ленинопад), a pun literally translated as "Leninfall",[1] with the coinage of "-пад" being akin to English words suffixed with "fall" as in "waterfall", "snowfall", etc.

History

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See also: Decommunization in Ukraine
The "Monument of the Great October Revolution" was dismantled in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union and Ukraine re-gaining independence.

The demolition of Lenin monuments in Ukraine happened in four stages. During the 1990s, more than 2,000 Lenin monuments were demolished in western part of Ukraine, at the turn of the 1990–2000s more than 600 Lenin monuments were removed in western and central areas, in 2005–2008, more than 600 were demolished mainly in central areas, and in 2013–2014, 552 monuments were demolished.[2]

The first wave of demolitions of Lenin monuments happened in Western Ukraine in 1990–1991. On 1 August 1990, in Chervonohrad a Lenin monument was demolished for the first time in the USSR.[3] Under popular pressure the monument was dismantled, formally with the purpose of moving elsewhere. That same year, Lenin monuments were dismantled in Ternopil, Kolomyia, Nadvirna, Borislav, Drohobych, Lviv and other cities of Galicia.[4]

In 1991, Ukraine had 5,500 Lenin monuments.[5] In November 2015, approximately 1,300 Lenin monuments were still standing.[5] More than 700 Lenin monuments were removed and/or destroyed between February 2014 and December 2015.[5]

On 9 April 2015, the Ukrainian parliament passed legislation on decommunization.[6] On 15 May 2015, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko signed this bill into law that started a six-month period for the removal of communist monuments (excluding World War II monuments) and the mandatory renaming of settlements with names related to Communism.[7] On 16 January 2017, the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance announced that 1,320 Lenin monuments were dismantled during decommunization.[8]

A website "Raining Lenins"[9] tracks the statistics of the fall of Lenin statues in Ukraine.[4]

On 17 March 2016, the largest Lenin monument at the unoccupied territory of Ukraine, 19.8 meters high, was dismantled in Zaporizhzhia.[10] In between the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula by the Russian Federation and 28 September 2014, the largest Lenin monument at the unoccupied territory was standing in Kharkiv (20.2 m high).[11][12] This statue of Lenin in Kharkiv was toppled and destroyed on 28 September 2014.[13]

In February 2019, The Guardian reported that the two Lenin statues in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone were the only two remaining statues of Lenin in Ukraine, if not taking into account occupied territories of Ukraine.[14] In January 2021 "Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty" located three more remaining Lenin statues in three (Ukrainian controlled) small villages. This increased the number of remaining Lenin statues to five.[15]

During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, many of these statues of Lenin, which had been taken down by Ukrainian activists, were re-erected by Russian occupiers in Russian-controlled areas.[16][17][18][19]

Motivation

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See also: De-commemoration

The start of the "Leninopad" in its mass was laid by the demolition of the Lenin monument in Kyiv on the Bessarabian Square. The event took place on 8 December 2013 at around 6:00 pm. Even more people began to massively destroy monuments of the Soviet past after reports about the Euromaidan activists who died during the protests in Kyiv.

In January 2015, the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine announced that it would encourage all public initiatives related to cleaning Ukraine of monuments to figures of the communist past. According to Minister Vyacheslav Kyrylenko, his department will initiate the removal from the State Register of Immovable Monuments of Ukraine of all monuments related to communist figures listed there. "The state will not oppose, but on the contrary, will in every possible way support all public initiatives that will fight for the cleansing of Ukraine from these relics of the totalitarian past," the minister emphasized.[20]

In April 2015, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine voted in favor of the draft law "On the condemnation of the communist and national socialist (Nazi) totalitarian regimes in Ukraine and the prohibition of propaganda of their symbols", which, in particular, will oblige local authorities to dismantle monuments to communist figures on the territory of Ukraine.[21]

Communist monuments toppled during Euromaidan

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Lenin Square in Dnipropetrovsk on 22 February 2014 with the demolished monuments to Vladimir Lenin.

Euromaidan protesters toppled several statues of Vladimir Lenin in Ukrainian cities.[22][23][24] Some estimates said that more than 90 statues were toppled.[25] In December 2015, The Ukrainian Week calculated that 376 Lenin monuments were removed or destroyed in February 2014.[5]

This is a partial list:

Landmark Location Date Status Notes Image
Statue of Lenin Andriievo-Ivanove 3 January 2014 Broken in two Police launched an investigation based on a Criminal Code article entitled "Destruction of, or Damage to, Monuments of History or Culture".[26]
Statue of Lenin Berdychiv 22 February 2014 Toppled and destroyed [27][28] Statue of Lenin in Berdychiv in 2013.
Statue of Lenin Bila Tserkva 2014 Toppled and destroyed [22][29] Statue of Lenin in Bila Tserkva in 2009.
Statue of Lenin Chernihiv 21 February 2014 Toppled [30][31] "Lenin has laid down"
Statue of Lenin Chervona Sloboda 8 July 2014 Toppled According to the Ukrainian Communist Party "a criminal case has been opened over the act of vandalism".[32][33]
Statue of Lenin Kharkiv 28 September 2014 Toppled and destroyed The destruction of the Kharkiv Lenin statue on 28 September 2014
Statue of Lenin Kherson 7 February 2013 Destroyed [34]
Statue of Lenin Khmelnytskyi 21 February 2014 Toppled [22][29][35] Toppling of the statue of Lenin in Khmelnitsky, 21 February 2014.
Statue of Lenin Korosten 5 October 2014 Toppled Empty plinth
Statue of Lenin Kyiv 8 December 2013 Toppled and destroyed [23] Toppled Lenin statue being broken into pieces for souvenirs
Statue of Lenin Melitopol 5 July 2015 Dismantled by the City Council An empty pedestal of a Lenin statue
Statue of Lenin Novomoskovsk 2 August 2015 Toppled [36]
Statue of Lenin "Pressmash" Factory, Odesa 23 October 2015 Transformed into a statue of Darth Vader [37]
Statue of Lenin Podilsk 8 December 2013 Broken into several pieces [26]
Statue of Lenin Pryluky Dismantled
Bust of Lenin Sievierodonetsk 1 October 2014 Set on fire and dismantled [38]
Statue of Lenin Stanytsia Luhanska 16 April 2015 Toppled
Statue of Lenin Velyki Sorochyntsi Dismantled
Statue of Lenin Zaporizhzhia 17 March 2016 Dismantled [39]
Statue of Lenin Zhytomyr 21 February 2014 Toppled and destroyed [22][29][40]


Reactions

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The removal of the monuments evoked mixed feelings among the Ukrainian population.[41] In some cases, like in Kharkiv in early 2014,[42] pro-Russian Ukrainian crowds protected the monuments, including members of the communist and socialist parties, as well as veterans of World War II and the Afghan wars.[43] The Statue of Lenin in Kharkiv was toppled on 28 September 2014.[13] Late October 2014, then Kharkiv Governor Ihor Baluta admitted that he thought that the majority of Kharkiv residents had not wanted the statue removed, but said "there was hardly any protest afterward either, which is quite telling".[44]

In January 2015, the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine announced that it would encourage any public initiatives related to the cleansing of Ukraine from monuments to figures of the totalitarian communist past.[45]

"It is not by chance that the demonstrations that we saw after the annexation of Crimea in the east and southeast of Ukraine were organized in the squares around the monuments to Lenin, with red flags with a hammer and sickle. What is happening now in Ukraine, what was instigated by Russian aggression, is a clash between the new Ukraine and the old Soviet Union, to which the current Russia is trying to return with the help of Ukraine, seizing parts of its territories. It is not clear to me why monuments to Lenin are being demolished only now in various cities of Ukraine; why all these 24 years they continued to stand; why didn't the state administration of an independent country demolish them earlier?

— Yuriy Felshtynskyi[46]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Shebelist, Serhii (30 September 2013). ""Leninfall" – The lack of adequate commemoration policy in Ukraine provokes the new tide of the "war of monuments"". day.kyiv.ua. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  2. ^ Свобода, Радіо (January 2015). Від ленінізму до ленінопаду. Радіо Свобода (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 2 September 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  3. ^ (in Ukrainian) The first Lenin fell in 1990: how the idol of communism was dropped Archived 16 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine, Gazeta.ua (8 December 2018)
  4. ^ a b Volodymyr Semkiv, "Падай, Леніне, падай" Archived 9 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine ("Fall, Lenin, Fall", retrieved 9 June 2017)
  5. ^ a b c d Out of Sight Archived 29 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine, The Ukrainian Week (28 December 2015)
  6. ^ Hyde, Lily (20 April 2015). "Ukraine to rewrite Soviet history with controversial 'decommunisation' laws". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 16 May 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  7. ^ Poroshenko signed the laws about decomunization Archived 23 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Ukrayinska Pravda. 15 May 2015
    Poroshenko signs laws on denouncing Communist, Nazi regimes Archived 2 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine, Interfax-Ukraine. 15 May 20
    Poroshenko: Time for Ukraine to resolutely get rid of Communist symbols Archived 18 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine, UNIAN. 17 May 2015
    Goodbye, Lenin: Ukraine moves to ban communist symbols Archived 7 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News (14 April 2015)
  8. ^ (in Ukrainian) Dekomunizuvaly monuments to Lenin in 1320, Bandera set 4 Archived 21 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Ukrayinska Pravda (16 January 2017)
    (in Ukrainian) WITH 50 THOUSAND RENAMED OBJECTS PLACE NAMES, ONLY 34 ARE NAMED AFTER BANDERA Archived 19 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance (16 January 2017)
  9. ^ ""Raining Lenins"". Archived from the original on 20 August 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  10. ^ "В ЗАПОРІЖЖІ НАРЕШТІ ЗНЕСЛИ НАЙБІЛЬШОГО ЛЕНІНА. Фото". Історична правда. Archived from the original on 19 March 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  11. ^ "Харків повалив Леніна офіційно. Провокаторів попередили: до пам'ятника – зась". Українська правда (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 28 September 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  12. ^ "В Харкові звалили найбільший в Україні пам'ятник Леніну (фото, відео)". www.unian.ua (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 30 September 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  13. ^ a b "Ukraine nationalists tear down Kharkiv's Lenin statue". BBC News. 28 September 2014. Archived from the original on 29 September 2014. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  14. ^ Revisiting Chernobyl: 'It is a huge cemetery of dreams', The Guardian (28 February 2019)
  15. ^ Goodbye Lenin? Not In These Ukrainian Villages, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (19 January 2021)
  16. ^ Harding, Luke (23 April 2022). "Back in the USSR: Lenin statues and Soviet flags reappear in Russian-controlled cities". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 4 May 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  17. ^ Fink, Andrew (20 April 2022). "Lenin Returns to Ukraine". The Dispatch. Archived from the original on 23 April 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  18. ^ Bowman, Verity (27 April 2022). "Kyiv pulls down Soviet-era monument symbolising Russian-Ukrainian friendship". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 27 April 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  19. ^ Trofimov, Yaroslav (1 May 2022). "Russia's Occupation of Southern Ukraine Hardens, With Rubles, Russian Schools and Lenin Statues". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 3 May 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  20. ^ "Урядовий портал :: Демонтаж пам'яток радянським діячам буде підтримано на офіційному рівні, - В'ячеслав Кириленко". kmu.gov.ua. Archived from the original on 14 March 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  21. ^ В Україні знесуть усі пам'ятники радянським діячам Archived 2015-04-14 at the Wayback Machine // Лівий берег. — 2015. — 9 квіт.
  22. ^ a b c d "Ukraine crisis: Lenin statues toppled in protest". BBC. 22 February 2014. Archived from the original on 5 January 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  23. ^ a b "Leninopad, Ukraine's Falling Lenin Statues, Celebrated As Soviet Symbols Toppled Nationwide (VIDEOS, PHOTOS)". Huffington Post. 24 February 2014. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  24. ^ Софія Середа (9 January 2014). "В Україні – Ленінопад: пам'ятники вождю падають один за одним". Radiosvoboda.org. Archived from the original on 1 December 2008. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  25. ^ Ленінопад: від комуністичного вождя звільнено вже 90 міст України, Expres, 24 February 2014, archived from the original on 24 December 2014, retrieved 21 April 2015
  26. ^ a b "Police: One more Lenin statue broken in Odesa region". Kyiv Post. 4 January 2014. Archived from the original on 3 July 2015. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  27. ^ Ukraine crisis – Another monument of Lenin toppled in the city of Berdichev on YouTube
  28. ^ "Lenin Monumenet in Berdichev (Zhytomyr Oblast) – 22/02/2014". Raining Lenins. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  29. ^ a b c Raw: Lenin Statues Toppled Across Ukraine on YouTube
  30. ^ ""Leninopad" continues – monuments dismantled in Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava and Chernihiv". Ukrayinska Pravda. 22 February 2014. Archived from the original on 13 March 2014. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  31. ^ The monument of Lenin in Chernigov has fallen on YouTube
  32. ^ "Another Lenin monument removed near Ukraine's Sumy". Interfax Ukraine. 8 July 2014. Archived from the original on 3 July 2015. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  33. ^ "Lenin Monument in Chervona Sloboda (Sumi Oblast) – 08/07/2014". Raining Lenins. 8 July 2014. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  34. ^ "В Херсоне ночью был разрушен памятник Ленину". bigmir.net (in Russian). 11 February 2013.
  35. ^ Statue toppled in 21 February 2014 on YouTube
  36. ^ "Айдар нашел и свалил Ленина в Новомосковске". YouTube. 2 August 2015.
  37. ^ "Ukraine: Lenin statue given Darth Vader makeover". BBC. 23 October 2015.
  38. ^ Glukhov, Denis (1 October 2014). "В Северодонецке после поджога демонтировали Ленина". kp.ua (in Russian).
  39. ^ "У Запоріжжі остаточно демонтували найбільший в Україні пам'ятник Лєніну". Тиждень (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 20 March 2016. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  40. ^ Statue toppled in 21 February 2014 on YouTube
  41. ^ "Toppling of Lenin monument in Kyiv evokes mixed feelings". Kyiv Post. 10 December 2013. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  42. ^ Ukraine: Kharkiv residents defend Lenin monument on Fatherland Day on YouTube
  43. ^ "Crowd defends Lenin statue in eastern Ukraine city". BBC. 23 February 2014. Archived from the original on 13 April 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  44. ^ "Ukraine's Second City, Kharkiv, Eludes Rebel Hands". Bloomberg BusinessWeek. 23 October 2014. Archived from the original on 28 June 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  45. ^ "Урядовий портал :: Демонтаж пам'яток радянським діячам буде підтримано на офіційному рівні, - В'ячеслав Кириленко". kmu.gov.ua. Archived from the original on 14 March 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  46. ^ Юрій Фельштинський: Путин всегда грамотно делал то, что на языке гэбешников называется «разводкой» Archived 2015-02-18 at the Wayback Machine (in Russian) // Главком.ua. — 2015. — 7 лют.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dismantled monuments of Lenin in Ukraine.

Bibliography

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  • Nikiforov, Yevhen (2017). Decommunized: Ukrainian Soviet Mosaics. Berlin: DOM publishers. ISBN 978-3-86922-583-8.
  • Nikiforov, Yevhen (2020). Art for Architecture. Ukraine. Soviet Modernist Mosaics from 1960 to 1990. Kyiv: DOM Publishers. p. 300. ISBN 978-3-86922-601-9.
  • Ackermann, Niels; Gobert, Sébastien (2017). Looking for Lenin. London: FUEL Publishing. p. 176. ISBN 978-0993191176.
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