Lviv region becomes the first in Ukraine to get rid of Soviet monuments
30 January 2024 20:15
The process of dismantling Soviet monuments and monuments has been completed in the Lviv region, the first case of such large-scale decommunisation in the country. This was stated by representatives of the Lviv Regional Military Administration during a briefing, according to 
In January 2023, an initial analysis was carried out to identify monuments to be dismantled in the Lviv region. At the inventory stage, 183 objects were identified as requiring removal.
However, after a more detailed study of the situation, it became clear that the number was even higher. After all, the inventory before the work began was incomplete, as the real number of Soviet monuments was often hidden in different communities.
In 2023, 312 objects were demolished in the Lviv region. Most of them were in Lviv district – 78. Chervonohrad district is in second place with 62, and Zolochiv district is in third place in terms of the number of Soviet monuments – 51.
“Today we can say that the Lviv region has been completely cleared of Soviet-era monuments. It was our duty to do what Ukrainians failed to do more than 30 years ago when they regained their independence. Today, our enemy is the same,”
– said Andriy Godik, First Deputy Head of the Lviv Regional Military Administration.
It is important that Lviv region was the first in Ukraine to get rid of Soviet markers. There were more than 150 monuments to Soviet soldiers, 43 obelisks and steles, 40 monuments to the “grieving mother” and “motherland”, 10 collective farmers, and 5 heroes of the Soviet Union, and 59 other objects.
“Not only did we not spend a single hryvnia from the regional budget for the implementation, but we did not allocate any funds. There are a lot of volunteers, including entrepreneurs and farmers, who provided equipment for free. Often, as in Zhovkva, local residents joined in,”
– said Zakhar Mylyanyk, a member of the working group and chairman of the inter-factional association, Lviv Regional Council.
In some cases, heavy machinery had to be used to demolish the amount of concrete and rebar. The communities themselves decided what to do with the dismantled materials.
