MOSCOW, February 25, /ITAR-TASS/. A Russian military historical society has expressed its concern over an incident that has taken place in the town of Stryi, the Lvov region, where a monument to Soviet WWII soldiers has been dismantled.
“We consider it to be an insult to the memory of soldiers who died in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945,” the Russian military-historical society said in its statement issued on Tuesday.
“War memorials are erected in all countries. The horrors of war, heroism and self-sacrifice; grief and tears over killed in action notices; the cry of widows, suffering, patience and fortitude; chill in the trenches and hunger in cities and villages and jelled fear in children’s eyes - this is what war monuments tell us about,” the society said in its statement.
“They also make us think about the future. Monuments keep our memories of the war fresh. Forgetting those who died in the war is impossible in our society. But not to think about the future is a crime, a crime to the memory of our ancestors and future generations!” the Russian military-historical society emphasized.
“A monument to Soviet soldiers who liberated Ukraine during WWII was demounted in the town of Stryi on February 22, 2014,” the Russian military historical society said. The sculpture of a soldier with a child in his hands was considered to be the city’s spiritual center where war veterans came on Victory Day marked on May 9.
WWII memorials have not been the only targets for attacks in Ukraine in recent days.
In the meantime, monuments to Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the 1917 Bolshevik revolution in Russia, have become the targets of frequent vandal attacks over the past few months. The first monument to Lenin was destroyed in Kiev on December 8 last year when radical protesters crushed it with sledgehammers. Such incidents have become regular in all parts of Ukraine since then.
Lenin’s monument has been demounted in Dnepropetrovsk, one of the biggest cities in Ukraine, last Friday. Local media reported the monument had been pulled down from its pedestal which stood on the city’s square bearing Lenin’s name.
Vandals have also destroyed Lenin’s monuments in Chernigov despite clashes with Communist Party supporters who tried to save the statue.
Vandal attempts to destroy monuments to Lenin have been registered in other Ukrainian cities, including Brovary, Zhitomir, Poltava and Priluki (the Chernigov region).