Oleksandr Alfiorov, the head of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance (UINR), Oleksandr Alfiorov, considers the decision of the Kyiv City State Administration to install a fountain at the site of the Lenin monument dangerous. Alfiorov has reported this on his Facebook page, the Ukrainian News agency reports.
"As the head of the expert group on de-Russification in Kyiv, this step is incomprehensible to me, because it does not fit into the strategy of naming in Kyiv, where I thought we were one of the flagships in Ukraine. As a 5th generation Kyivan, I find this decision strange: my city has a great history. As the head of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance, I consider this decision dangerous," he said.
Alfiorov emphasized that Kyiv is the capital of an independent state that is waging a bloody war with the occupier, and at this time, more than ever, it is necessary to carefully and carefully place its identity markers and build a strong border of memory and memorialization.
"And here is the fountain. For me, it's like renaming Lenina Street to Abrykosova Street. Well, something neutral, anyway - then there will be some other government, the second, the third. Why bother? Let's just create more gray areas. And let the consciousness of the younger generation be tempered at school," he said indignantly.
Alfiorov believes that every such place in the center of Kyiv should be harmoniously integrated into the overall concept.
"Every such place in Kyiv should be harmoniously integrated into the overall concept! And not be covered with neutrality, which in modern conditions is equal to irresponsibility and, in fact, indulgence of the occupier, who is very eager for this silent and gray Ukraine," he said.
The head of the Institute of National Remembrance believes that the monument to Lenin should be replaced by a monument to the head of the Ukrainian state, Hetman Pavlo Skoropadsky.
"One end of Shevchenko Boulevard, where the monument to Shchors used to be, faces Petliury Street. And this one faces Bessarabka and Skoropadskoho Street. There is a monument to Hrushevsky in the center of the boulevard. That is, the capital has a wonderful artery that would memorialize the Era of Independence of Ukraine in 1917-1920: the creation of a monument to Petliura where Shchors used to be and a monument to Skoropadsky where Lenin used to be. The center already has Hrushevsky," he explained.
Alfiorov believes that there should be a public discussion and a competition on what will be installed in the center of Kyiv on the site of the Lenin monument.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, the Kyiv City State Administration plans to install a fountain on the site of the dismantled Lenin monument at the corner of Taras Shevchenko Boulevard and Khreshchatyk Street in the center of Kyiv.
On December 8, 2013, protesters demolished a monument to Lenin on Shevchenko Boulevard in Kyiv.
In November 2024, the Kyiv City Council decided to dismantle the pedestal from the monument to Lenin on Taras Shevchenko Boulevard.
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