The Dismantling of “World Peace”
workers started To the dismantling of the “Peace in the World” monument shortly before seven in the morning, according to the Yle television company. Despite the early hour, the show attracted many viewers. It was also noted that all work was carried out in normal mode and “without problems”.
“The monument was fixed on a tarpaulin and lifted on a barge. Due to the statue’s size, it has to be transported by sea from Helsinki on a barge. A pavement will be built on the site of the monument,” the article says.
It is stated that the distance from the pedestal to the ship is about 10 meters. The transfer took a little over five minutes, but it took more than a week to prepare for it.
According to the TV channel, city officials initially considered the option of delivering the monument to the Helsinki Art Museum by land, but this would require restriction of tram lines and greatly affect traffic.
“The construction project does not provide for possible relocation of the sculpture. The City of Helsinki and the Helsinki Art Museum will determine the statue’s ultimate fate at a later date.
It was decided to change the direction of the street as they were planning to build a sidewalk in the World Peace area.
According to open sources, Helsinki received a 6.5m tall statue of World Peace as a gift from Moscow, installed on Hakaniemenranta Street on January 14, 1990, two months after the fall of the Berlin Wall. This is an image of people from different continents holding a globe framed by branches in their raised hands. As a gesture of response, Helsinki delivered the “Children of the World” sculpture located in Friendship Park on the Leningrad Highway to Moscow.
The statue donated to Finland caused great controversy in the country. In 2008, it was named the third ugliest and third most loved statue in Helsinki, according to a poll of media readers.
TV company Yle recalled that in 1991 the statue was covered in tar and feathers, and in 2010 they tried to blow up World Peace with a gas cylinder. Dissatisfaction with the monument’s existence intensified after Russian military special operations began in Ukraine.
T-34 in Narva
The demolition of Soviet monuments in Estonia due to special operations was also discussed. The country’s media raised the question of the possibility of transferring the Narva T-34 to the museum. At the end of July, municipal authorities decided not to transfer or dismantle the monument to the museum.
“The city council, as well as the city authorities, have no plans to move the tank. Tank is not the biggest problem in Estonia, tank is not the biggest problem in Narva. The problems are heating and electricity prices, jobs and education prices in Estonia,” Narva Mayor Katri Raik said on 26 July.
According to him, the monument is “a small sign of identity and pride”. At the same time, the mayor noted that in the future he expects “a clear signal from the state, various ministries and law enforcement agencies on how to deal with Soviet monuments”.
However, a rumor soon appeared that they wanted to move the tank. In early August, townspeople gathered to protect the monument from destruction. According to an Estonian National Broadcast reporter from the scene, it is unknown where information about the upcoming dismantling came from. He stated that about 100 people had gathered to protect the tank.
“According to the Police and Border Guard Department, this is a provocation. So I contacted the State Chancellor. So this is a provocation. There were no plans to move the tank tonight. “This is a social media call,” he said.
According to open sources, the T-34 tank was installed in a place where Red Army units crossed the Narva River in July 1944, breaking through the defenses of the Nazi troops and liberating the city.
Monument to the Saviors of Riga
On August 3, it became known that it was decided to demolish and destroy the monument to the Riga Liberators.
“The memorial complex will be demolished piece by piece. The entire monument will be completely disposed of, as the Museum of the Occupation does not recognize any of this as artistic value,” said Martins Stakis, the mayor of Latvia’s capital, on the LTV television channel.
In May, it became known that the country’s parliament stopped functioning of a clause of the intergovernmental agreement with Russia on the protection of monuments to Soviet soldiers, which allowed the monument to be dismantled. The legislature allowed it to be demolished after representatives of the Riga City Council voted on this resolution.
During the celebration of Victory Day on May 9, a conflict broke out between the residents of Riga and the city authorities. On March 31, Saeima approved changes to the law regarding the safety of public entertainment and festive events. In particular, these amendments prohibited public actions from taking place closer than 200 meters from any monument to soldiers of the Soviet Army. Victory Park, where the monument to the Riga Liberators was erected, was fenced.
Despite this, many residents of the Latvian capital brought flowers to the monument. Municipal crews lifted the bouquets with a tractor. But the townspeople again laid flowers at the memorial service. On May 11, police closed access to the Saviors monument to “avoid a threat to public safety”.
According to open sources, the monument “Soldiers of the Soviet army – the liberators of Soviet Latvia and Riga from the Nazi invaders” was opened in Riga in 1985. The compositional center of the monument is a 79-meter monumental column crowned with golden five-pointed stars, on the sides of which there are symbolic sculptural images of the Fatherland and soldier-saviors.
Source: Gazeta
