Monument to Mykola Shchors was dismantled in Kyiv: what will happen to it? Photo

On the morning of December 9, the dismantling of the monument to Mykola Shchors began in Kyiv. The day before, the monument, located in the center of the Ukrainian capital, had its protected status removed.

After dismantling, the structure will be stored at the Antonov State Aviation Museum of Ukraine. This was reported by the Kyiv City State Administration.

Utilities began dismantling the monument before dawn. Several units of special equipment are working at the site. In this regard, there may be a temporary partial blocking of traffic on Taras Shevchenko Boulevard.

"The monument to the Soviet leader, located in the center of Kyiv, had previously had its security status removed. In the future, the monument will be kept at the Antonov State Aviation Museum of Ukraine," the Kyiv City State Administration said.

Mykola Shchors was one of the Bolshevik military commanders during the Soviet-Ukrainian war. He was also a member of the Ukrainian Red Guard insurgency. In the 1930s, Soviet propaganda began to actively use the image of Shchors. In 1930-1950, the Soviet authorities issued numerous orders to erect monuments to Shchors in many cities.

The municipal services plan to dismantle only the monument itself – the image of Shchors and the horse. The pedestal itself will remain in place for now. The experts also noted that they intend to keep the monument intact. At the same time, its weight of 25 tons makes it difficult to work with.

It is worth noting that in 1872-1926, a monument to Oleksii Bobrynskyi, a railroad builder in Kyiv, was erected on the site of the monument to Mykola Shchors. Bobrynsky was also a politician, entrepreneur, economist, philanthropist, and founder of the Ukrainian sugar industry. The Soviet authorities dismantled the monument in the late 1920s.

The idea of erecting a monument to Shchors in Kyiv arose in 1936. The initiator of the monument was Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.

Work on the monument began in 1940, but due to the outbreak of World War II, the project could not be implemented. As a result, the monument to Shchors was unveiled in Kyiv in 1954.

The dismantling of the Shchors monument lasted several hours. Utilities managed to dismantle the monument in one piece.

As a reminder, a monument to Russian poet Oleksandr Pushkin was dismantled in Kyiv's Shevchenkivskyi district. For now, it will be kept on the territory of the State Aviation Museum.

Earlier it was reported that in the Pechersk district of Kyiv, unknown persons removed information plates with names on busts of Soviet figures. They are located in the Park of Eternal Glory.

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