Russia is no longer the motherland: kyiv tears the hammer and sickle off a Soviet-era monument

Wikipedia says that “the term mother country is used to designate a 'mother' nation with which a group of individuals is related, be it their place of birth or the ethnic origin of an immigrant group. On the other hand, it can be used to indicate the historical, political and cultural relationship that exists between colonies or ex-colonies and the nations that have colonized them.

'Motherland' was the name of a statue erected in kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, in 1981, depicting a woman with a shield in one hand and a sword in the other.. It measures 62 meters high (102 with its pedestal) and weighs 560 tons.. An emblematic monument, the sculpture stands on top of the Museum of the Great Patriotic War (which is what they call the Second World War).

A trident instead of the hammer and sickle

Marked by its Soviet symbols, the hammer and sickle, the statue was erected for the purpose of that second meaning that we saw: Ukrainians celebrating motherland Russia. But things have changed a lot, especially since the tanks of the “fatherland” Vladimir Putin invaded the territory of “his daughter” in February 2022.

Operators began work on Tuesday to remove the hammer and sickle from the shield that carries the statue of the 'Motherland'. The symbols of the USSR, which appeared surrounded by a garland of ears of corn, will be replaced. In its place will be placed the tryzub, the trident that appears on the country's coat of arms.

85% of Ukrainians who participated in a poll voted to remove the Soviet symbology from the monument

In addition, Ukraine will change the name of the statue to 'Mother Ukraine'. The “new” sculpture is expected to be ready before Independence Day, which falls on August 24.

Actually, with a war involved, it is surprising that the authorities have taken so long to do so. In 2022, the Ministry of Culture launched a citizen survey to determine what to do with the statue.. Of those who participated, 85% advocated removing the Soviet symbology from the monument.

Previously, Ukrainian public figures had raised on several occasions that the Soviet symbology of the statue was a symbol of slavery.. Law enforcement had been slow until the outbreak of war in February 2022.

The hammer and sickle lost by the 'Motherland' will be handed over to the Museum of the History of Ukraine in World War II.

The statue in detail

The Kiev 'Motherland' sculpture is made of stainless steel, is 62 meters high, which is 102 together with the base of the building, and weighs about 560 tons. The sword in the right hand of the statue is about 16 meters long and weighs 9 tons.. In his left hand he holds a shield (13 x 8 meters), which is now going to be transformed.

In the 1950s there was a plan to build two twin monuments of Lenin and Stalin on that site, each almost 200 meters high.

It was designed by Yevgeny Vuchetich, who was inspired by the Ukrainian painter Nina Danyleiko.. After Vuchetich's death, the project was continued by Vasyl Borodai. He preferred the Ukrainian sculptor Halyna Kalchenko as a model because she was the daughter of the Prime Minister of Ukraine Nikifor Kalchenko.

It could have been worse, because in the 1950s a plan circulated to build two twin monuments of Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin on the same spot, each almost 200 meters high.. In the end, the idea was scrapped.

Under the statue, the memorial hall of the Great Patriotic War Museum displays marble plaques with engraved names of more than 11,600 soldiers and more than 200 home front workers.. All of them were honored during the war with the title “Hero of the Soviet Union” and “Hero of Socialist Labor.”