Monument to Lenin (Simferopol)

The monument to V.I. Lenin and the eponymous square in Simferopol were inaugurated in 1967 ^[3] .

The monument was designed by sculptor V. G. Stamov and local architect V. V. Popov. On a pedestal of red polished granite is a bronze figure of V.I. Lenin 5.5 meters high. The forward leaning figure of Lenin rests with his left hand on the podium, and in his right holds pieces of paper. The total height of the monument is more than 10 meters. On the granite stele installed in front of the monument, the words are carved: “The monument to Vladimir Ilyich was erected in the year of the 50th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution by the working people of Simferopol” (1967).

In the main city of Crimea during the Soviet period there were several monuments to Lenin. In addition to the monument to Lenin in the square named after V.I. Lenin and the monument opposite the railway station , in Simferopol there were monuments to Lenin in the city ​​garden , sculptural compositions together with Stalin, separately in the same garden, at the site of the monument to Catherine II .

In 1927, on the corner of Pushkin and R. Luxemburg streets, a bronze sculpture of V.I. Lenin, cast according to the project of MG Manizer. A statue of the leader was erected on a high pedestal in full growth, his right hand in his trouser pocket, his left holding a lapel of his jacket, and a cap on his head. But there was no large, monumental monument in the city ^[3] . On July 13, 1933, a memorandum signed by the head of the Istpart of the Crimean Regional Committee of the CPSU (B.) V.K. Averkin as follows:

“All the largest cities of the Soviet Union erected ... monuments to the leader of the October Revolution, V.I. To Lenin, thereby introducing into the city improvement not only an element of artistic culture, but also ideological propaganda ... The sculptural installations of V.I. available in Simferopol Lenin (a bust on Leninsky Boulevard and a figure on a pedestal at the beginning of Pushkinskaya Street) is so small that it is only suitable for chamber installations, and not for streets where, due to their small size, they are lost among tall buildings ... Instead of these of two monuments, in the conditions of streets that do not have artistic and propaganda significance, it is necessary in Simferopol, as the administrative, economic and cultural center of the Crimean Republic, to erect such a monument to Ilyich, which would be both a decoration of the city and present would themselves member is art-ideology propaganda and exemplary example would be a monumental sculpture ... " ^[4] .

In 1940, the monument “Liberation of Crimea” was completely dismantled in the city ​​garden . On the 20th anniversary of the Sovietization of Crimea, a monument to V.I. Lenin ^[5] . In 1941, the German invaders destroyed this monument. After his release in 1944, a small bronze sculpture of V.I. Lenina M.G. Manizer hidden before the occupation.

In the 1950s, reconstruction of Bazarnaya Square (historical name: Bazarnaya - the place where there was previously a huge bazaar in Simferopol) began. The Simferopol bazaar located here was moved in 1957 to the south of Kirov Avenue on ul. Kozlova, becoming the Central Market of Simferopol. The southern part of the former bazaar has become a Trenev park . The House of Trade Unions (1959), the House of Soviets (1960), and the Ukrainian Theater (1977) were built in the northern part of the former Bazaar. In 1967, on the anniversary of the Great October Revolution, a monument to Lenin was unveiled in the new square, and the square was named after Lenin.

This radically changed the historical center of the city. Many buildings of the 19th century built around the Market Square went under demolition. In 1960, the current building of the Crimean Council of Ministers was built in the southern part of the square. The remainder of Bazarnaya Square with a large water-distributing fountain freed up a place for a monument to Lenin, later the small Pushkin Square and ancient trees for the construction of the Ukrainian Musical Theater were demolished. The streets have changed their original location ^{[6] [3]} .

Ukraine

In Simferopol of the Ukrainian period, the Lenin monument and the square were the site of mass demonstrations, rallies, and protests. Tent towns ^{[7] [8]} periodically appeared near it. The reason for such attention to the monument and the square is explained by the proximity of the building of the Council of Ministers of Crimea .

Accession of Crimea to the Russian Federation and later

On February 23, 2014, a rally in memory of the famous Crimean Tatar public and political figure Noman Chelebidzhikhan, organized by the Mejlis, took place on Lenin Square in Simferopol, during which the chairman of the Mejlis Refat Chubarov urged Crimean members of the Party of Regions to quit the party, and also demanded that the city authorities demolish the monument within ten days Lenin ^[9] . In response, the city organizations of communists and pensioners announced the protection of this monument from demolition ^[10] , and the monument did not become a link in the Leninopad chain ^[11] . Shortly before that, a monument to Lenin in the village of Zuya, Belogorsky district of Crimea, was dropped from a pedestal ^[12] . The next day, February 27, in the territory of Crimea, the actions of numerous armed groups unfolded - self-defense units from local residents, "Berkut", Cossacks and representatives of various Russian public organizations who arrived in Crimea on their own initiative to "protect compatriots." The monument to Lenin and the events surrounding the attempt to demolish it remained in the memory of the Crimeans one of the key symbols of the events of the Crimean Spring:

• On February 24, 2014, a monument to Lenin was dropped from the pedestal in the village of Zuya, Belogorsky district of Crimea ^[13] .
• On August 7, 2014, they wanted to dump the monument to Lenin in Olenevka into the sea ^[14] .
• On July 12, 2016, the monument to little Vladimir Ulyanov (Lenin) was dropped from the pedestal in the children's park of Sevastopol ^[12]
• October 21, 2016 unknown persons destroyed the monument to Lenin in Sudak ^[15] .

March 16, 2015, on the day of the first anniversary of the All-Crimean referendum, a presentation of the updated square and the restored monument took place ^[10] .

Attempts by some Russian officials ^[16] to remove the Lenin monument provoke a negative reaction from Simferopol residents :

Lenin must not be touched. This is our story. This is a political issue, so do not make sudden movements, not even statements. This is advice. There is a certain mentality of ours. You can’t touch Lenin, but that means moving too. ^[17]

• Kirov Avenue
• State Academic Musical Theater of the Republic of Crimea
• Council of Ministers of the Republic of Crimea