Saving Lenin?

Like many people, I’ve been following the events in Ukraine closely all week. In addition to tracking each move of the political gamesmanship being played, I’ve been following the destruction of a number of Lenin statues in different cities throughout Ukraine. While reading an article about the symbolic power of smashing a Lenin statue, I began thinking about all of the Lenin statues I encountered while living in far-flung pockets of the former USSR.

If I had to choose, I’d say that my favorite Lenin statue is the one I passed by almost every day while living in Ashgabat–the capital of Turkmenistan. Set on an extravagant plinth, this unique Lenin statue is quite literally worked into the fabric of the local culture, since its pedestal is decorated with colorful patterns on glazed tiles that resemble the intricate designs found woven into Turkmen rugs. On the platform directly below Lenin’s feet, his name is written in Arabic calligraphy (ahem)–while on the base of the pedestal, his name is displayed in Russian in between the dates of his birth and death.

This unusual Lenin statue on the Silk Road is just one of many Lenin statues still proudly standing in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. However, in Ukraine, new statues of “national” heroes are already being created to take Lenin’s place–like the statue of the 19th century Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko–which will soon be erected in the village of Lenino…