Central Asia's Tallest Lenin Statue Taken Down
The central Asian city of Almaty has removed its largest Lenin statue from a pedestal near the city's main square.
The 10-meter statue was pulled down by a crane yesterday, asWatching crowds cheered and took photos and videos with their phones.
The mayor's office said the statue will be put into storage, though they did not say whether it would be displayed again or destroyed.
The move is part of a sweeping de-Sovietization effort across Central Asia, where Russians once dominated.
What's next for the monument?
For now, the Lenin statue will be placed in storage in a city warehouse. But the mayor's office has not ruled out the possibility of re-displaying the monument at a more suitable location.
Background on the Statue
The Lenin statue was erected in the 1980s in response to a city-wide poll that suggested overwhelming support for the Soviet leader.
For decades, it was not unusual to see flowers placed at the monument's base, or elderly Russians kissing the statue's toes.
But support for the statue waned considerably in recent years, with critics arguing that Lenin was a mass murderer who brought destruction to Kazakhstan.
City's De-Sovietization Process
The mayor's office says the removal of the statue is part of a larger, city-wide effort to de-sovietize the city.
In the past four years, all Soviet-era place names have been replaced with Kazakh titles, and streets and squares have been renamed.
The largest Soviet-era monument in the city, the Statue of Motherland, was also dismantled earlier this year.
Public Reaction
The response to yesterday's statue removal was largely positive, though some critics argue that removing the statue doesn't address other systemic issues in the city.
One local, Bakyt B., told us: "It's disgusting - they're wiping away their own history. They've got plenty of problems here, but instead of fixing those, they're tearing down statues.
