Sunday, May 1, 2016

Keeping Up with the (K)Lenins

So, last year, partially in response to their conflicts with Russia, the Ukrainian government banned all Soviet symbols, statues, flags, anthems, etc. This included over 900 statues of Vladimir Lenin, who had been positioned around various parts of Ukraine. As such, the statues were torn down; however, with these newly fallen statues, there became an issue of where to put them all. After all, 900 statues of one man is a lot, and they were taken down all across the country.

Needless to say, Lenin ended up in some interesting places. Most were taken to local junkyards, where they currently are just sitting there. Others were just dropped off in places, as after they were taken down, no one really wants anything to do with them. Some of the Lenins' were also defaced, such as the one which was dressed up as Darth Vader. Another was painted gold and beheaded with the Ukrainian flag painted beneath, I suppose as a symbol of power and revolution.

Darth Lenin
Overall, the Lenins used to be a symbol of the power of the Soviet Union, and now they are simply useless statues. It goes to show how much of an effect outdated symbols of power have upon the government which assumed control in its wake.


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