Rosemary and Mint Replace Lenin Statue in Kyiv

The plinth on Taras Shevchenko Boulevard where the Lenin monument once stood has been decorated in greenery, including herbs such as rosemary and mint.

This revamp is part of a current project by the ‘Isolyatsiya’ art platform.

The work of Mexican artist, Isa Carrillo has a won the competition to fill the spot which the statue of Lenin once occupied in Kyiv. The piece is entitled ‘Ritual of Nature’.

For this project, the artist has drawn inspiration from the forces of nature and aims to neutralise the ideological tensions associated with that particular spot.

She also invites locals to come and meditate at the place where Lenin once stood.

The monument of Lenin was torn down in the centre of Kyiv on 8th January 2013, during the Euromaidan protests. This became a symbol of the uprising, triggering similar acts up and down the country.

The red granite statue of Lenin was first installed in 1946 opposite the Besarabsky market. The Muscovite sculptor, Sergei Merkurov, created the monument for the USSR’s pavilion at the 1938 World Fair in New York.

Another Lenin statue was recently given a Taras Shevchenko-style makeover by Ukrainian soldiers serving in the Luhansk region.