The monument to Vladimir Lenin in the village of Kushmurun, Kostanay region, has been dismantled at the request of the regional akimat. The decision comes after a petition supported by almost 400 local residents.
The Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine reported that the removal of the monument was not sudden. Attempts to remove it from the central square were made in 2015 and 2022, but then supporters of the Soviet Union defended the monument.
„This year, the regional authorities put an end to the issue“.According to Ukrainian intelligence, the initiative group justified its request by the connection between the Soviet regime, famine and political repression. We are talking about the famine in Kazakhstan in the early 1930s, known as „asharshilik“.
The message states that, according to various estimates, the number of victims of the famine reaches 2.3 million people, or almost half of the population of Kazakhstan at that time. Experts compare these events to the Holodomor in Ukraine.
Dismantling as part of a wider process
The Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine defines the removal of the monument as part of the intensification of the processes of de-Sovietization in Central Asia. Its assessment states that the recall of national tragedies from the Soviet period undermines the image of the “happy Soviet past“ that Russia defends.
“All processes of de-Sovietization in the countries of Central Asia are aimed at one goal - reducing dependence and influence on Russia“, Ukrainian intelligence states.
According to the institution, individual countries in the region follow different approaches. In Kyrgyzstan, calls are being made for complete decommunization and de-Russification, and Uzbekistan is identified as a leader in these processes. Tajikistan emphasizes national identity and historical self-awareness.
Turkmenistan follows its own model of building national sovereignty within the framework of an isolationist and neutral policy. The Ukrainian service links these differences to a general trend towards limiting Russian influence in the former Soviet republics.
Sources: ukrinform.ua, ulysmedia.kz