Ukraine throws off the Soviet Hammer and Sickle from its Motherland Monument
Ukraine continues to remove the Soviet footprint from its monuments and territory
Aerial view of Ukraine’s 335 foot tall Motherland Monument as the Soviet hammer and sickle are removed on Aug 1, 2023, Kyiv, Ukraine. Image/Sergii Volskyi/AFP via Getty Images
The removal of the hammer and sickle from Ukraine’s 335 foot Motherland Monument is the most recent symbolic gesture from Ukraine that it has broken free from the cloud of the Soviet Union and will never submit to invaders advancing the old Soviet vision of Russian hegemony over Ukraine.
For several years now, Ukraine has been on a campaign to remove the shadow of the Soviet Union from its landscape. When the Soviet Union occupied countries across Europe, it left symbols and imagery meant to remind the people of their place in the mighty “collective Soviet.” However, imagery that was once meant to inspire awe now serves as a reminder of Soviet oppression.
Over the past decade, it has been a focus point of Vladimir Putin‘s domestic policy to revitalize a nostalgia for the collapsed Soviet Union, specifically pinpointing and retelling the role it played in the Second World War.
Soviet T-34 tanks roll through Red Square during Russia’s Victory Day military parade in Moscow on the 76th anniversary of WWll in Moscow. May 9, 2021 Image/Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP/via TWP
But the more Russian leaders attempt to awaken a Neo-Soviet longing in the minds of Russians, the more Ukrainians distance themselves from it. Both of these campaigns have been taking place for years now, but the decision to finally remove the Hammer and Sickle from Ukraine’s massive Motherland Monument in its capital is a particularly poignant blow to the Russian narrative.
The 335 foot tall monument is one of the centerpieces of Ukraine‘s National Museum of the History of Ukraine in World War II, which overlooks the right bank of the River Dnipro in the capital city, Kyiv.
The Soviet emblem will be replaced with the Coat of Arms of Ukraine, the tryzub (trident), which finds its origin in the tenth century Grand Prince of Kyiv, Volodymyr the Great.
The Soviet symbol is taken down in preparation for the installation of the Ukrainian Trident. Aug 1, 2023 Image/Valentyn Ogirenko/REUTERS
In America, the Soviet Union may just be a memory of a former opponent, but in countries all across Europe it represents torture, famine, ethnic deportation, death, and ideological oppression on a titanic scale.
In May of 2023, Ukraine’s parliament voted on a law to remove the remaining Soviet monuments left in the country. This move by Ukraine is a reminder that this war is a war of ideas and identities as well as guns and tanks.
Ukraine’s former culture minister Oleksandr Tkachenko stated that the funding for the project comes from private businesses, and the state budget would not be used.
The work to remove the Soviet emblem was completed on August 1, 2023.
Update on this story
Workers celebrate after mounting the Ukrainian national emblem to the shield of the statue Image/REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
On August 6, 2023, the trident, Ukraine’s coat of arms, was raised on the Motherland Monument taking the place that was previously held by the Soviet hammer and sickle on the war memorial. The completion of the work on August 6 marks the latest pronouncement of Ukrainian sovereignty over its landmarks and territory, a message clearly designed to distance itself from its war hungry neighbor.
