Russia Dismantles Memorials to Stalin’s Regime Victims And Installs Soviet Monuments in Occupied Ukraine

According to Center of National Resistance as of January 7, Russian authorities on temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine have been replacing cultural symbols with monuments glorifying figures who implemented Soviet policies, often associated with oppression and repression. For instance, in Nova Kakhovka, a statue of Vladimir Lenin was erected on the central square, symbolizing Russia’s attempt to reinstate Soviet ideology.

At the same time, memorials dedicated to victims of Soviet crimes, such as the Holodomor and Stalinist repressions, have been systematically destroyed. In Luhansk, the Russian occupation forces demolished memorials honoring victims of Stalin’s regime, labeling them as “false monuments” and claiming they offended local sentiments. Similarly, in Kherson, monuments to the Holodomor  victims were dismantled.

Journalist Denys Kazanskyi noted that such actions reflect an ideological hatred that extends even to the memory of those who perished in the 1930s famine, a crime recognized internationally as genocide against the Ukrainian people.

Simultaneously, Russian entities have conducted over 70 unauthorized archaeological excavations in occupied territories, with plans for 100 more. Key cultural sites, including the Kherson Regional Museum and Zaporizhzhia’s Kamyana Mohyla, have been looted. Artifacts from these institutions, along with numerous unearthed items from archaeological digs, are being transported to Russia or sold on illegal markets.

Evelina Kravchenko, an archaeologist with Ukraine’s National Academy of Sciences, highlighted the scale of the looting in Crimea, where objects have been illegally excavated since 2014. Sites like Chersonesus Taurica, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, have been subjected to extensive, ideologically motivated alterations. Chersonesus is now being repurposed for propagandistic festivals, with stages erected on its ancient grounds.

Earlier, Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture reported that as of December 2024, at least 1,255 cultural heritage sites had been damaged during Russia’s full-scale invasion, including 125 of national significance. The Kharkiv region suffered the most, with 324 sites affected, followed by Kherson, Donetsk, and Odesa.