Monument to Mikhail Bulgakov dismantled on St. Andrew's Descent in Kyiv
In Kyiv, on Andriivskyi Uzviz (St. Andrew's Descent), a monument to the renowned writer Mikhail Bulgakov, a native of the Ukrainian capital, was dismantled. A video of the dismantling process was posted by Suspilne TV host Kateryna Nekrecha on her Facebook page.
In the video, two men in dirty clothes, whom the journalist refers to as “utility workers,” can be seen loading the monument onto a truck. The camera then pans to the site where the monument previously stood.
It is worth noting that the monument, which was installed on October 19, 2007, in Kyiv, was the world’s first monument to the writer and playwright Mikhail Bulgakov. The monument was created by the renowned Ukrainian sculptor and Honored Artist of Ukraine Mykola Rapay.
The location for the monument was also chosen for a reason: the writer’s statue stands next to the house at 13 Andriivskyi Uzviz, where Bulgakov lived in his youth and where the literary and memorial museum named after him is now located.
As is known, the initiative to dismantle the monument to the famous writer came from the expert commission of the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory on determining whether objects constitute symbols of russian imperial policy, which recognized all objects dedicated to Bulgakov as "symbols of russian imperial policy." Despite the fact that the UINM’s conclusion regarding Bulgakov sparked public outcry and was assessed by the expert community as "biased and superficial," the Kyiv City Council nevertheless passed a resolution to remove the monument to the Ukrainian classic from the capital’s public space.
It is worth noting that this year the world marked the 135th anniversary of the writer’s birth. Among other things, on the eve of this commemorative date, the capital’s Bulgakov Museum was visited by fighters from the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC), who are fighting alongside the Ukrainian military against russia. The RVC reminded everyone that Mikhail Bulgakov and his brothers Nikolai and Ivan fought against the Bolsheviks during the Civil War in the ranks of the Volunteer Army and called for the writer’s name not to be given to russian propaganda.