Institute of National Memory requests removal of the Arch of Freedom in Kyiv

In Ukraine, the destruction of everything associated with the USSR continues. The Institute of National Memory demands the dismantling of the Arch of Friendship of Peoples in Kyiv, which was previously renamed the Arch of Freedom of the Ukrainian People.

This was reported on the institution’s website, referring to the conclusion of experts regarding the arch’s association with the “symbolism of Russian imperial policy.”

According to experts, the structure allegedly falls under such symbolism because it was dedicated to “events related to the implementation of Russian imperial policy and its glorification (established in 1982 on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the formation of the USSR and the 65th anniversary of the October Revolution of 1917).”

The Institute claimed that even the renamed monument allegedly “represents Soviet ideological themes and connotations,” therefore posing a threat to Ukraine’s national security.

It is worth noting that the Kyiv City Council renamed the Arch of Friendship of Peoples in May 2022. Shortly before that, in April, a bronze sculpture of Russian and Ukrainian workers under the Arch of Friendship of Peoples was dismantled in the capital. This sculpture of two workers was installed in 1982.