Ukraine is currently weighing a controversial question about a historical monument in Kyiv: should the bronze equestrian statue of Mykola Shchors, a figure from the Civil War era, be removed or relocated? The discussion has intensified among government circles as officials explore possible changes to the monument’s fate and its placement within the cityscape.
The government’s position, as explained by Oleksandr Tkachenko, the country’s Culture Minister, centers on a plan that would involve removing the sculpted figure of Shchors itself while allowing the horse he is mounted on to be separated from the rest of the monument. The minister indicated that in the eyes of many art critics, the horse has become a distinct artistic element worthy of separate recognition, separate from the rider who once led Red Army forces in the Civil War period. This approach would preserve a portion of the sculpture’s artistic value while rethinking its commemorative meaning in modern Kyiv.
Mykola Shchors was a notable commander of Ukrainian Red Guard formations during the Civil War and became the head of a division within the Red Army during that tumultuous era. He died young, at 24, in a battle near Zhytomyr in 1919. The Shchors monument stands at the intersection of Simon Petliura Street and Taras Shevchenko Boulevard. It is a bronze, equestrian statue with a total height of roughly 14 meters, a landmark that has long prompted debates about how the country should remember its past and present.
In late 2022, statements from Nikolai Tomenko, who had previously served as a deputy in the Verkhovna Rada, suggested that Ukrainian authorities backed efforts to rethink monuments dedicated to figures tied to the Civil War, including Nikolai Shchors and other historical figures associated with the Soviet era. The discourse reflects broader conversations about which monuments remain as symbols in public spaces and how they are interpreted by current and future generations.
Meanwhile, in the port city of Odessa, officials have already moved to remove a memorial plaque honoring the writer Maxim Gorky that adorns the facade of a local building. This action forms part of a broader pattern of reassessing public commemorations across Ukrainian cities as communities consider how to present history to residents and visitors in a contemporary national context.
Public discussions around these decisions often balance artistic value, historical memory, and the evolving narrative that a modern society aims to present. Supporters of preserving the existing monument point to its artistic merit, its place in Kyiv’s urban landscape, and the historical record it represents. Critics argue that monuments tied to older political regimes can send the wrong message in today’s society and should be reconsidered or relocated to museums where context can be provided for visitors. The debate is animated by local sentiment, expert opinions, and shifts in national memory as Ukraine continues to reflect on its past while shaping its future.