Russia’s war in Ukraine has spurred European countries to dismantle over 20 Soviet monuments
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has given new momentum to the calls to tear down remaining Soviet monuments in a number of European countries that were once under the USSR's control. Many have already been dismantled. The investigative outlet Agentstvo reported 19 examples, and Meduza found more than 20 using open sources. Most of the structures were memorials to Red Army soldiers, but not all of them. Latvia, for example, took down a monument to a Soviet diplomatic courier, while a wall demolished in Estonia was dedicated to the builders of the Narva power plants. Meanwhile, in Finland, the authorities removed a sculpture titled “Peace Throughout the World” that was given to the country by the USSR. And Ukraine (not included in this count) has takendown a number of Soviet monuments of its own.
Cover photo: Sergei Stepanov / AP / Scanpix / LETA
