How Many Lenin Statues Are Left Out There?
FACTS | FIGURES | MYTHS
It’s really frustrating to see over and over again those ubiquitous and everlasting lazy pieces of “journalism” stating that only a handful of Lenin monuments are left on this planet, mostly to be found in museums or open air memorial parks. These shallow articles would want you to believe that, after Ukraine got rid of its statues, you now need to fly to Antarctica, dive deep into the Ocean, visit some ludicrous Memento Parks or travel to the breakaway republic of Transnistria to find the last remaining Lenins.
Well, guess what, these are all fake news and clickbaits.
There are, in fact, plenty of Lenin Statues still left in public spaces all around Russia, the former USSR and even a few non-Soviet countries. The precious website leninstatues.ru, alas available only in Russian, maintains a complete database about all the Lenins ever built. According to their thoroughly researched datas and statistics, there are more than 7000 Lenin Statues still left standing as of March 2019 compared to the approximately 15000 of March 1991, just a few months before the dissolution of the USSR.
After the 2014 Euromaidan events, Ukraine has, indeed, demolished most of its Lenin statues, but a few survive in areas not under direct control of the Ukrainian authorities, such as Crimea or the Donbass. There are also some Lenin monuments left standing outside the former USSR. Most of them are in Germany, Vietnam and Mongolia, but there are also a few odd ones resiliently resisting in countries like Italy or Finland. Visit leninisstillaround.com (in German) for a complete overview of the current state of affairs.
Please note that these numbers only refer to those Lenin monuments situated in their original urban context (i.e. public squares, streets, city parks); statues and busts exhibited in museums and/or private estates are not counted. Actually do yourself a favour and avoid places like Memento Park in Budapest or Grūtas in Lithuania: these tourist traps showcase Lenin statues and other Soviet monuments in a completely decontextualised and tacky environment.
All photos by Gianluca Pardelli | www.gianlucapardelli.com