Kyiv starts removing Soviet general's statue as decommunization continues

The dismantling of the monument to Bolshevik officer Mykola Shchors, located on Taras Shevchenko Boulevard near the Universytet metro station, began in Kyiv on Dec. 9, the Kyiv City State Administration has reported.

Prior to that, the monument's protected status was removed.

Read also: Another monument to Russian poet Pushkin taken down in Kyiv

During the dismantling of the structure, a temporary partial blockage of traffic on Taras Shevchenko Boulevard is possible, the authorities warned.

The Kyiv City State Administration said that the monument would in future be stored in the O. K. Antonov State Museum of Aviation of Ukraine.

Earlier, the Kyiv authorities stated that they were unable to dismantle a number of memorials that still have the status of a monument of national importance, as only the Cabinet of Ministers can remove this status.

At the time, the monument to Shchors, Russian writer Alexander Pushkin, the crew of the Tarashchanets armored train, and others were among them.

Mykola Shchors was one of the Bolshevik military leaders during the Soviet-Ukrainian War. In the 1930s, Soviet propaganda began to actively use the image of Shchors.

In Kyiv, a monument to the Soviet leader was erected on April 30, 1954, at the intersection of Symon Petliura Street and Taras Shevchenko Boulevard on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the Pereyaslav Agreement.

Read also: Ukrainian artist Serhiy Zhadan cheers as Pushkin monuments fall across Ukraine

After the Revolution of Dignity, the authorities planned to dismantle the monument as part of decommunization, and for some time the monument was covered with fabric shields of national colors on all sides.

Members of patriotic organizations tried to dismantle the monument on Aug. 24, 2016, and in March 2017, unknown persons damaged one of the legs of the horse on which Shchors is sitting.

Activists left numerous inscriptions on the monument, such as "Executioner", "Demolish me completely", "Dismantle me at last", etc.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine