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Lenin statue in Ukraine’s Odessa turned into Darth Vader

The changes were made at the request of Pressmash workers and local residents who think that "it is time for new heroes"

© ITAR-TASS/Maria Frolova

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Darth Vader seeking seat in Ukraine’s parliament denied ballot paper

KIEV, October 22. /TASS/. A monument of Bolshevik revolution leader Vladimir Lenin has been turned into a statue of Darth Vader, the top villain of the Star Wars space saga, in Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odessa, local media reported on Thursday.

The plaster statue of Lenin turned Vader can be found on the premisses of Odessa’s Pressmash plant, Dumskaya.net news portal said.

Local sculptor Alexander Milov reinforced the statue with a special coating and attached some ‘Vader’ details made of titanium alloy with glue used in outer space, Dumskaya.net said adding that the materials had been supplied by NASA.

The changes were made at the request of Pressmash workers and local residents who think that "it is time for new heroes," Dumskaya.net said.

The statue will be unveiled at a ceremony on Friday.

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The move follows the adoption of the de-communization law in Ukraine banning all Communist-era symbols in the country.

In 2014, the Odessa-based Internet Party of Ukraine put forward Darth Vader as its prime ministerial candidate in the parliamentary elections. Other Star Wars characters like Chewbacca, Princess Amidala and Yoda also ran for seats in the Ukrainian parliament but the party failed to clear the five percent election threshold.

Vader also unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Odessa and Kiev, Ukraine’s capital.

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