State Duma deputy Sergei Mironov, leader of the A Just Russia party, has asked UNESCO for a legal qualification of recent demolitions of Soviet-era monuments in Ukraine.
“Today monuments to Russian-speaking historical public and political figures, and monuments for Great Patriotic War heroes are being destroyed throughout Ukraine on a mass scale. During the coup, quite a many items of historical heritage were destroyed or vandalized,” Mironov said in a letter to UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova.
On February 22 the Liberator Soldier Monument, a World War II memorial, was pulled down in Stryi, Lviv region, Mironov said.
On February 25 a bust of Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov, commander of the Russian Army during Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in 1812, was destroyed in Brody, also Lviv region.
On February 27 a rubbish dump was organized near the Eternal Flame in Sumy, a World War II memorial.
Several dozen statues of Vladimir Lenin have been knocked down in various cities in western Ukraine, Mironov said.
“I want to draw your attention to the fact that the new authorities in Ukraine do not react to these acts of vandalism in any way. This warrants the conclusion that there is a systematic campaign underway in Ukraine to demolish monuments to historical figures and defame heroes of the Great Patriotic War,” he said.
He cited the UNESCO charter as saying the organization’s main objective is to strengthen peace and security via educational, scientific and cultural cooperation in the interests of justice, rule of law and respect for human rights for everyone regardless of race, gender, language and religion.
“I ask you to give a legal qualification and an expert assessment of the facts that have been mentioned, and I hope for support from UNESCO in seeking to prevent the destruction of the cultural heritage in Ukraine,” Mironov said.
