Today, September 22, in Odesa, public figure Demyan Hanul and the head of the NGO "Green Leaf" Vladyslav Balinsky tried to dismantle the bas-relief of the Order of Lenin and the "Golden Star" medal from April 10 Square. However, the police reacted quickly and filed an administrative report on the men for petty hooliganism.
"This morning, my friends and I came to Lenin to finish what we started two weeks ago - dismantling the image of the Order of Lenin. The police arrived faster than a piece of metal fell. But we all understand that dismantling is inevitable, plus now these structures are dangerous for citizens," the activists said in a statement on Facebook.
Hanul and Balinsky publicly called on the local authorities to complete the dismantling of Soviet symbols on April 10 Square. This appeal resonates with the recent statements of the head of Odesa OVA Oleg Kiper, who announced plans to demolish the monument to the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. This decision caused controversy, because the mayor of Odesa, Gennadiy Trukhanov, previously stated that the monument cannot be demolished due to its inclusion in the UNESCO register as part of the cultural heritage.
