The day before, the Russian Foreign Ministry called the dismantling of the Monument of Military Glory of the Soviet Armed Forces in Lviv "a cynical act of state vandalism". 

“The work on its demolition, which began in 2018, led to the dismantling of not only the statue of a Soviet soldier, but also the monument to the Lviv Motherland, which was moved to the Territory of Terror museum.

The local authorities' further plans include dismantling a large-scale copy of the Order of the Patriotic War, which is the central element of the Field of Mars memorial in Lviv, ”said Oleksandr Bikantov, Deputy Director of the Information and Press Department of the Foreign Ministry.

According to him, the demolition of the Monument of Military Glory was caused by "systematic attempts to falsify the heroic history of the peoples of Ukraine and all other countries of the former Soviet Union."

"One gets the impression that modern Ukrainian Nazis are trying to take revenge and take revenge on the fallen Red Army men for their victory over fascism, including the crushing defeat of the SS Galicia division in the Battle of Brody," Bikantov said in a statement.

The diplomat recalled that during the liberation of Lviv and other cities of Western Ukraine from Nazi occupation, 65 thousand Red Army soldiers died, 3.5 thousand of whom were buried next to the Monument of Military Glory: “We call on the leadership of Ukraine to fulfill its obligations to preserve and protect them in accordance with with its own national legislation and international treaties, including the Agreement on perpetuating the memory of the courage and heroism of the peoples of the CIS member states in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 ”.

"Neo-Nazi Games"

The "Monument to the Military Glory of the Soviet Armed Forces" was erected in Lviv in 1970.

It was an ensemble of a 30-meter stele, a massive wall with figures of soldiers of the Soviet army and two central sculptures symbolizing a soldier and the Motherland.

The monument was created by the architect Apollon Ogranovich, who died in Lviv two years ago, and local artists Emmanuil Misko, Dmitry Krvavich and Yaroslav Motyga.

The monument was located in the Central Park of Culture and Leisure.

Shortly before dismantling, it was designated by the city administration as "the only surviving monument of the totalitarian era in Lviv."

  • Central sculptures of the Monument of Military Glory in Lviv

  • RIA News

  • © B. Krishtul

On February 23, 2018, the executive committee of the Lviv City Council approved the decision “On taking measures to eliminate the accident rate of the Monument of Military Glory of the Soviet Armed Forces on the street.

Stryisky ".

In particular, the stele needed anti-emergency work.

However, the document did not imply a complete renovation of the ensemble.

The authorities decided to put up fences and hold a competition for arranging the space at the intersection of the streets where the monument was located at that time.

In February 2019, work began on dismantling the 30-meter statue under the pretext of its high accident rate.

The bas-reliefs removed from the stele were transferred to the Territory of Terror Museum, dedicated to the period of the 1930-1950s.

On the night of March 3, the stele was finally dismantled.

In April 2021, a contractor hired by the administration of the Galitsky district began dismantling the figures of Soviet soldiers.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the Lviv authorities "have begun the final destruction of the Monument of Glory."

According to her, the organizers of the demolition of the monument are playing "neo-Nazi games, forgetting the past and trying to distort their own history."

On July 22, Lviv officials reported on the demolition of two central sculptures.

They will also be donated to the Territory of Terror Museum.

On the site of the ensemble and the adjacent space, the authorities intend to create a zone with bike paths, a cable car and underground parking.

In an interview with RT, HSE professor Oleg Matveychev suggested that the main burden of responsibility for the destruction of the Monument of Military Glory is borne by the mayor of Lvov, Andrey Sadovoy.

According to the political scientist, he is widely known in Ukraine because of the glorification of nationalist collaborationist formations operating in the territories occupied by the Third Reich.

“This is far from the only trick of Sadovy, who did a lot to glorify the Nazi accomplices crushed by the Red Army.

He is undoubtedly the main inspiration for the demolition.

But it is impossible to ignore the indifferent position of the Lviv people themselves, the absence of any resistance to this vandalism, ”says Matveychev.

In a commentary to RT, the president of the Center for Systems Analysis and Forecasting, Rostislav Ischenko, explained the passivity of Lviv residents, including the older generation, as a consequence of the propaganda of the cult of the SS Galicia division, the aggressive imposition of an anti-Soviet and Russophobic view of the history of Ukraine.

“The policy of the Lviv authorities is to impose the notion that Nazi Germany was in fact an ally of the“ fighters for Ukrainian independence ”during the Second World War.

If we talk about Sadovoy, he is a notorious Bandera.

And, unfortunately, it is very popular in the city, given that he was re-elected as mayor several times, ”Ischenko explained.

Blasphemous actions

As stated in the report of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation "On the situation with human rights in Ukraine", the Ukrainian authorities use various pretexts to justify the demolition of the monuments to the Red Army.

One of them is a package of laws on decommunization, adopted in 2015, which prohibits the demonstration of Soviet symbols.

As part of its execution, about 2.5 thousand monuments of the socialist era were demolished.

“The package of laws on 'decommunization' marked the beginning of numerous actions to demolish monuments to leaders of the Soviet period.

Despite the fact that the law still provides for an exception for monuments to the heroes of World War II, in practice this provision is ignored by both state institutions and right-wing radicals, ”the Foreign Ministry’s document states.

Also, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, after the adoption of laws on decommunization by right-wing radical groups, the number of acts of vandalism against monuments to Soviet military leaders increased significantly.

  • Demolition by radicals of the bust of Marshal Georgy Zhukov in Kharkov

  • RIA News

So, in Kiev, a monument to the General of the Red Army, Hero of the Soviet Union Nikolai Vatutin was repeatedly desecrated.

In November 2019, Ukrainian nationalists cut out a bronze bas-relief of Georgy Zhukov from the wall of the military registration and enlistment office in Odessa and stamped their feet on it.

At the same time, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine said that the department has no complaints about vandals.

In February 2020, radicals dismantled a bas-relief of a Soviet marshal from the wall of a student dormitory.

In early June 2019, during a picket against the congress in Kharkiv of the Trust in Deeds movement, nationalists demolished a bust of Zhukov.

The police did not interfere with the vandals, although they suffered from the tear gas sprayed by them.

Gennady Kernes, who was then the mayor of the city, condemned the actions of the radicals and said that the monument would be restored and returned to the pedestal.

He kept his promise, but in May 2020, the bust was again desecrated by splashing paint. 

Monuments to soldiers and commanders of the Red Army in Ternopil, Transcarpathian, Donetsk regions were also attacked.

On September 5, 2019, vandals desecrated a memorial in the form of the Order of the Great Patriotic War on the Field of Mars in Lviv.

“Such cases are recorded by Ukrainian law enforcement officers and entered into the unified register of pre-trial investigations, but the participants in these blasphemous actions are not brought to justice.

In practice, it turns out that Ukrainian officials justify the vandals by their actions, ”the report of the Russian Foreign Ministry says.

Along with this, as the document says, the Ukrainian authorities condone the glorification of collaborators, continue to erect monuments and memorial signs in honor of the OUN-UPA militants *, as well as "pay tribute to the former Nazis who have survived to this day."

According to Oleg Matveychev, the processes that are being observed in Ukraine can be described as “creeping fascisation”.

The expert noted that the memorials of the Great Patriotic War are disagreeable to the post-Maidan authorities, because they remind of the exploits of the Red Army and the defeat of collaborationist formations.

“Any reminder of the Victory, that Hitler's Ukrainian accomplices were defeated, all this is in the throat of the current leadership of Ukraine.

This memory, in their opinion, must be erased, and therefore there are any pretexts for the demolition of monuments and justification of those who outraged the memorials, which for any normal person should be inviolable, ”stated Matveychev.

According to him, such a policy of the authorities only deepens the split in Ukrainian society, as it hurts the feelings of citizens who honor the memory of the victory in the Great Patriotic War.

“With the victory of Volodymyr Zelensky in the elections, a significant part, primarily the Russian-speaking, had a hope that the propaganda of Bandera ideology and attacks on the May 9 holiday, if not stop, then at least will not be so powerful.

However, this did not happen.

In my opinion, Zelensky thus betrayed his voters and his front-line grandfather, dissolving in the Russophobic anti-Soviet conjuncture, ”says Matveychev.

  • Action of nationalists in honor of Stepan Bandera's birthday

  • Reuters

  • © Valentyn Ogirenko

Political analyst Alexander Dudchak, in turn, believes that Western states bear a large share of the responsibility for the situation with the monuments to the Red Army.

In a commentary on RT, the expert said that the US and the EU are considering the process of rewriting the history of Ukraine as one of the tools to counter Russia.

“There can be no reconciliation with those who offend the memory of the Red Army that destroyed Nazism.

But we see how the West, including Europe, which was liberated by Soviet troops, ignores and sometimes condones what is happening now in Ukraine.

Most importantly, it should irritate Russia.

This is the goal of the West's policy, ”Dudchak emphasized.

At the same time, according to the expert, the demolition of the monuments of the Red Army and the falsification of the events of the Great Patriotic War do not bring tangible political bonuses to the current authorities of Ukraine.

“With all this violent anti-Soviet and anti-Russian activity, the Ukrainian leadership also expects to divert the attention of society from the pressing socio-economic hardships - rising prices in stores, meager incomes, payments for housing and communal services.

Yes, somewhere such a simple move works, but what will happen to the country next?

There is still no escape from these problems, ”concluded Dudchak.

* Organization of Ukrainian nationalists - "Ukrainian Insurgent Army" (OUN-UPA) - a Ukrainian organization recognized as extremist and banned on the territory of Russia (decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of 11/17/2014).