The Dismantling of “World Peace”
Workers began the dismantling of the Peace in the World monument just before seven in the morning, according to the Yle television company. Even at that early hour the event drew a large crowd, and officials reported that all work proceeded in a normal manner and without incident.
The monument was anchored to a tarpaulin and hoisted onto a barge. Given the statue’s size, it must be transported by sea from Helsinki on the barge. After the removal, a pavement would be laid where the monument once stood, the article notes.
The distance from the pedestal to the ship is about ten meters. The transfer itself took a little over five minutes, but the preparation extended over more than a week.
According to the TV channel, city officials originally weighed delivering the monument by land to the Helsinki Art Museum. That route would require tram line restrictions and would disrupt traffic significantly.
The construction plan does not include a provision for relocating the sculpture. The City of Helsinki and the Helsinki Art Museum will decide the statue’s final fate at a later date.
Plans were amended to alter the street direction to accommodate the construction of a sidewalk in the World Peace area.
Open sources note that Helsinki received a 6.5 meter tall World Peace statue as a gift from Moscow, installed on Hakaniemenranta Street on January 14, 1990, two months after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The sculpture depicts people from different continents lifting a globe framed by branches. In response, Helsinki transferred the Children of the World sculpture from Friendship Park on the Leningrad Highway to Moscow.
This donated statue sparked considerable controversy in Finland. In 2008 it was named both among the city’s ugliest and among its most beloved statues in a reader poll by the media.
Yle recalled that in 1991 the statue was covered in tar and feathers, and in 2010 there was an attempt to blow up World Peace with a gas cylinder. Dissatisfaction with the monument grew stronger after Russian military actions began in Ukraine.
T-34 in Narva
The demolition of Soviet monuments in Estonia amid special operations was also a topic of discussion. Estonia’s media raised questions about moving the Narva T-34 to a museum. By the end of July, local authorities decided against transferring or dismantling the monument for museum display.
“The city council and city authorities do not plan to move the tank. The tank is not the biggest problem for Narva, nor is it the city’s central issue. The larger challenges are heating and electricity costs, employment, and education in Estonia,” stated Narva Mayor Katri Raik on July 26.
He described the monument as a small symbol of identity and pride. Yet he also anticipated a future explicit signal from the state, various ministries, and law enforcement on how to handle Soviet monuments.
A rumor soon spread that the tank might be relocated. In early August residents gathered to protect the monument from removal. An Estonian National Broadcast reporter on the scene described the origin of the rumor as unclear, noting about one hundred people had assembled to guard the tank.
Police and Border Guard officials called the incident a provocation and reached out to the State Chancellor to confirm the situation. It was clarified that there were no plans to move the tank that night and that the online chatter was a social media call to action.
Historical sources indicate the T-34 tank was placed where Red Army units crossed the Narva River in July 1944, breaking through Nazi defenses and liberating the city.
Monument to the Saviors of Riga
On August 3, it was announced that the monument to the Riga Liberators would be demolished. The memorial complex would be dismantled piece by piece and completely disposed of, as the Museum of the Occupation did not recognize any artistic value in it, said Martins Stakis, the mayor of Latvia’s capital, on LTV.
Earlier in May it became known that the parliament halted the enforcement of a clause in an intergovernmental agreement with Russia on the protection of Soviet soldiers memorials. That pause allowed demolition after Riga City Council voted on the resolution.
During Victory Day celebrations on May 9, a conflict arose between Riga residents and city authorities. On March 31, Saeima approved amendments to the law governing public entertainment and festive events. The changes prohibited public actions within 200 meters of any Soviet Army monument. Victory Park, where the Riga Liberators monument stood, was fenced off.
In spite of these rules, many Riga residents still laid flowers at the memorial. Municipal crews lifted bouquets with a tractor, but the people returned to lay more flowers at the memorial service. On May 11, police closed access to the Saviors monument to prevent threats to public safety.
Open sources indicate that the monument Soldiers of the Soviet Army – the Liberators of Soviet Latvia and Riga from Nazi invaders opened in Riga in 1985. The central feature is a 79-meter column crowned with golden stars, flanked by sculptural representations of the Fatherland and brave soldiers.