Since the toppling of the monument to Lenin on Besarabska Square in Kyiv, at least 19 other monuments to the Chief of the world proletariat have been damaged or demolished across the country.
On December 8, the monument to Lenin was pulled off its pedestal with ropes. During the fall, the statue’s head broke from the body. Later, MPs of the Svoboda party claimed responsibility for this demolition.
Because of the demolition, the militia launched a criminal proceeding under Article 294 of the Criminal Code on mass disorders.
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On December 11, the communists of the city of Lyubeshiv in Volyn Oblast took down a Lenin monument on their own initiative. The monument stood on private land belonging to the local office of the Communist Party.
On December 30, four unidentified men tore down a Lenin monument in Vatutine, Cherkasy Oblast. Early in the morning citizens found the empty pedestal and the overthrown statue. After several hours municipal service workers put the sculpture back up, but with a broken nose.
However, the majority of the monuments to the Chief were destroyed in Odesa Oblast.
On the night of December 9, unknown persons damaged the Lenin monument next to the railroad worker’s club in Kotovsk, Odesa Oblast. The militia investigation established that the bust was separated from the monument.
The fragments were scattered at the foot of the pedestal.
The local investigators have launched criminal proceedings under Article 296 of the Criminal Code for hooliganism.
On January 4, a Lenin monument was damaged near a park in Mykolayiv Oblast. The investigation established that the monument fell off by itself.
On January 5, unknowns poured black paint on the monument of Lenin in Berezivka, Odesa Oblast.
On January 21, a Lenin monument in Tatarbunary, Odesa Oblast, was decapitated. The same fate befell Lenin’s statue in Mashivka, Poltava Oblast. Criminal cases have been opened for hooliganism. Same month, an inscription “butcher” appeared on the Lenin statue in Alchevsk, Luhansk Oblast.
Also in January, a bust of Lenin was ruined by unknown persons in Kryviy Rih not far from one of its railway stations. The cast-iron bust had its head knocked off, while the pedestal remained intact.
On January 23, in Snihurivka, Mykolaiv Oblast, another monument to the Chief was brought down. Criminal proceedings were launched in this case under Part 1 of Article 194 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine for the damage of property, which carries a maximum punishment of imprisonment for up to 4 years.
On the same day, the Lenin monument in Izium, Kharkiv Oblast was covered with red paint. And on January 30, the monument was painted over with words “Thou shalt not make an idol,” “The law” and others.
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Same day, another Lenin monument was demolished in Fastiv, Kyiv Oblast. The investigation established that unknown persons toppled the 6-meter high statue with the help of a winch and cable. Criminal proceedings for hooliganism have been opened.
In January, Vinnytsya Oblast saw the departure of two Lenins. One Lenin got his head cut off in the city of Poberezhne, and in Yampol another Lenin monument was dismantled and in it place the monument to the Ukrainian cossack hetman Bohdan Khmelnitskiy was mounted.
On February 1, unknown people decapitated the Lenin monument by in the regional center of Chornobai, Cherkasy Oblast.
On the night of February 7, the monument to Lenin in Shepetivka, Khmelnytsk Oblast, simply disappeared.
During the same night unidentified people painted the Lenin monument in the Lenin Komsomol park in Odesa with the following slogans: ”Freedom will come,” “OUN-UPA are heroes,” “Take a knife to the Russians,” “Ukraine for Ukrainians.” The police have opened a criminal case for hooliganism. The pedestal was cleaned before the day was over.
Meanwhile, in Sumy the monument to Lenin near the Chemist palace of culture has been officially removed from its pedestal. The work was done by the department of construction and roads. “We will deal with the pedestal in the spring. Let the communists remove the plaque themselves,” city mayor Hennadiy Minayev commented on his FB page. According to the decision of the city council, the last monument to Lenin in the Durovshchyna housing development will also be removed in time.
Thus, in 2013 at least 17 monuments to Vladimir Lenin were demolished and damaged. As a result of the incidents, the police opened a number of criminal cases for hooliganism.
Translated by Alya Shandra
Edited by Mariana Budjeryn
Source: Тиждень.ua
