During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, that had commenced in February 2022, a number of Soviet-era monuments and memorials were demolished or removed, or commitments to remove them were announced in former Eastern Bloc Soviet satellite states, as well as several other countries formerly occupied by the Soviet Union.
In Ukraine, following the Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, between 2015 and 2020, around 2,000 monuments and symbols that were linked to Ukraine's communist past were removed. In 2017 Poland passed a de-communism law requiring such communist and totalitarian regime symbols to be removed.[1]
In November 2022, the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs had counted 322 monuments and tombstones that may be subject to removal.[2] It was decided that 244 of these would be dismantled, with 56 removed by December 2022.[3]
On July 14, 2022, Latvian Saeima approved the removal of 69 monuments, memorials, and other objects glorifying Soviet and Nazi regimes selected by the Heritage Administration, the Latvian Artists Union and Museum of the Occupation of Latvia.[4] By 14 November, all 69 monuments had been removed, as well as an additional 55 Nazi and Soviet glorifying objects removed on the municipalities' own initiative.[5]
Lithuania decided in April 2022 to complete the removal of all Russian monuments, begun in 1991, including those in cemeteries.[6]
Poland began removing monuments following the 2016 law to de-communise Poland. The invasion of Ukraine generated an increased desire to remove such items, with 20 removed by August 2022 with 40 more scheduled for removal.[7]
Ukraine had removed over 2,000 monuments to Russian communism by 2020 in accordance with the de-communism law of 2015, including 1,320 statues or busts of Lenin. Additional monuments were removed after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[8]
According to governor Maksym Kozytskyi, 312 monuments were removed in 2013 in Lviv Oblast. In January 2024 the Lviv Oblast became the first oblast to remove all Soviet Union-era monuments.[9]
Monument/Memorial | Location | Country | Removal announced | Removed | Means of removal | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Narva tank | Narva | Estonia | August 16, 2022 | August 16, 2022 | Government removal | [10][11] |
"Monument to the Liberators of Soviet Latvia and Riga from the German Fascist Invaders" (Red Army monument) | Riga | Latvia | May 12, 2022 | August 25, 2022 | Government removal | [12][13][14] |
Monument to the Fourth Unit of the Red Army's First Latvian Guerilla Brigade | Alsviķi Parish | Latvia | N/A | August 26, 2022 | Vandalized | [15] |
Memorial Stone "To the Soviet Liberators of Madliena from the German Fascist Invaders" | Madliena | Latvia | N/A | April 26, 2022 | Government removal | [16] |
Monument "To the Soviet Defenders of Liepāja"/Grenade Thrower | Liepāja | Latvia | N/A | October 25, 2022 | Government removal | [17][18] |
Monument "To the Soviet Liberators of Daugavpils" | Daugavpils | Latvia | N/A | October 31, 2022 | Government removal | [19][20] |
Monument "To the Liberators of Rēzekne"/Alyosha | Rēzekne | Latvia | N/A | November 9, 2022 | Government removal | [21][22] |
World Peace monument | Helsinki | Finland | N/A | August 4, 2022 | Government removal | [23] |
Medals from the Bronze Soldier of Tallinn | Tallinn | Estonia | N/A | 12 April 2022 | Vandalized | [24] |
Monument to the Red Army | Brzeg | Poland | 24 August 2022 | 24 August 2022 | Government removal | [25] |
Bust of Vladimir Lenin | Kotka | Finland | 4 October 2022 | 4 October 2022 | Government removal | [26] |
Bust of Vladimir Lenin | Turku | Finland | 28 April 2022 | 28 April 2022 | Government removal | [27] |
Monument of Gratitude to the Red Army | Glubczyce | Poland | 27 October 2022 | 27 October 2022 | Government removal | [28] |
Monument of Gratitude to the Red Army | Byczyna | Poland | 27 October 2022 | 27 October 2022 | Government removal | [28] |
Monument of Gratitude to the Red Army | Staszow | Poland | 27 October 2022 | 27 October 2022 | Government removal | [28] |
Monument of Gratitude to the Red Army | Bobolice | Poland | 27 October 2022 | 27 October 2022 | Government removal | [28] |
Monument of friendship between Russia and Ukraine | Kyiv | Ukraine | 28 April 2022 | 28 April 2022 | Government removal | [29] |
Monument to the Liberator Soldier | Kharkiv | Ukraine | N/A | 23 May 2023 | Vandalized | |
Statues of Soviet World War Two soldiers | Antakalnis Cemetery, Vilnius | Lithuania | 22 November 2022 | 6 December 2022 | Government removal | [30] |
Soviet state emblem emblazoned on the Motherland Monument statue | Kyiv | Ukraine | 1 August 2023 | 1 August 2023 | Government removal | [31] |
Monument to the Soviet Army, Sofia | Sofia | Bulgaria | 1993 | December 2023 | Government removal | [32] |
Mykola Shchors monument | Kyiv | Ukraine | December 2023 | Government removal | [33] | |
Nikolai Vatutin monument | Kyiv | Ukraine | 8 February 2023 | 9 February 2023 | Government removal | [34] |
Catherine the Great statue | Odessa | Ukraine | November 2022 | 29 December 2022 | Government removal | [35] |
312 unnamed statues | Lviv Oblast | Ukraine | 2023 | activists and local residents | [9] | |
Monument to the War Glory of the Soviet Army | Lviv | Ukraine | 23 July 2021 | Government removal | [9] |