The Largest Monument To Lenin In Central Asia Was Demolished In Kyrgyzstan

• 7.06.2025, 21:26

A flagpole will take the place of the former pedestal.

In the city of Osh in southern Kyrgyzstan, one of the world's tallest monuments to Lenin was dismantled on the night of June 7. The monument, erected in 1975 in front of the city administration building, weighed 7.5 tons and reached 23 meters. It will be moved to the park "Meerim" ("Park of Love"), located nearby, and may be dismantled altogether. Meanwhile, the bronze 23-meter giant is lying on the central square in front of the city hall.

In place of the former pedestal will be a 95-meter-high flagpole - similar to the one installed in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.

According to RTVI.

Although the Osh mayor's office urged not to politicize the decision, calling the dismantling "a common practice within the framework of improving the architectural and aesthetic appearance of the city," the decision clearly shows a familiar departure from the worship of the Soviet leader. By the way, some residents of Osh have been debating the expediency of keeping the Soviet monument for years. Some considered it an outdated symbol of ideology, while others defended it as an element of historical and cultural heritage.

The dismantling took place against the background of quite broad changes in the post-Soviet countries of Central Asia. As is known, in recent years Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan have been actively changing Russian-language toponyms to variants in the state language, which has repeatedly caused discontent on the part of Moscow.

Earlier, in 2003, the Lenin monument was also removed from the central Ala-Too Square in Bishkek. Instead, a monument to the epic hero Manas the Magnanimous was erected. In January 2025, a new initiative was announced to replace the statue near the Historical Museum with a monument to Turdakun Usubaliev, who is considered one of the key figures of the Soviet period in the republic.