Lenin Statue Reinstated Hours After Being Toppled by Ukraine Protesters

By RIA Novosti

Jan. 11, 2014

It wasn't bringing Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin down, but actually keeping him there that proved to be a challenge for Ukraine protesters this weekend.

The protesters succeeded in toppling a statue of Lenin in the central Ukrainian town of Vatutino on Sunday night only to see it being returned to its pedestal several hours later, news agency UNIAN reported on Monday.

"A group of unidentified persons detached the monument from the pedestal and toppled it. But it turned out that the statue, made of plaster and bricks, was solid enough to sustain the fall. Only the back of Lenin's head and his cheek were slightly damaged," the agency said.

Municipal workers put the statue back in place on Monday morning and fixed it there with a layer of concrete.

A number of Lenin statues across Ukraine have been targeted since early December amid ongoing protests against the government's decision to freeze a political and association agreement with the European Union, opting for stronger ties with Russia instead.

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