which is chosen to protect these powerful abusers in 45 minutes on dw. very well. well thanks for getting to the jail love and binding step away from the spot. i'm not even allowed to go to my own car and everyone was later holes in every single day stuff getting you ready to meet, the gentleman can join me, right. just do it on dw, the one by one, there being toppled. the soviet monuments of eastern europe. just over 100 years since the founding of the soviet union. for

some, they symbolize the victory over fascism. for others, aggressive russian imperialism. the ones we don't want to destroy, erase it or change it, but preserved to provide them the ho here, the name of the person who committed genocide like this done in the so it's like having a monument to the russian soldiers who raped and loaded and put you on the

it gets quiet in downtown, keeps the pieces deceptive. in air. read alarm could go off at any minute. and a deadly strike occurs. there's no electricity in running water for days on end here on the banks of the different river, the people's friendship arch one symbolized friendship with russia. since april 2022, the space beneath it has to an empty this is what the friendship memorial used to look like. but in april 2022, it was be headed. the, you might think the people in cube have other worries right now than what to do with the cities monuments. but in fact, this question is loaded with significance. many are keen to see all traces of russia gone. we know now what kind of friendship,

this is the destruction of ukrainian city and the killing of tens of thousands of innocent citizens from the shop to the shop, give pieces, whatever they may ask them to the but not everyone wants to see soviet monuments torn down people like me, you're not acting on an unexcused bunch. he was there. when the statues were toppled and filmed and being demolished from the retros to stay at home the anybody yet it would have been 2 or 4 to watch a bus. quite cool, especially given how brucely the money which was demolished on board. do you,

once you have one question in goal was to meet her studies and aerospace engineering and as an instagram on her account child of socialism. she post soviet postcards, sixty's architecture and increasingly awesome. the demolition of monuments including many of the commemorate the soviet army in world war 2. the annual adverts are store. i didn't like the fact that everything of soviet is automatically associated with russian the me on the scales with the world now. so to see if to look at his book, find that it's hard to see these monuments being torn down when they will so dedicated to ukrainians, relatives outfit as citizens, same at this of shaw with 0 monuments to with ukrainian names on the tax

look at the the music flat piece and if i needed to mirror it, takes us on a tour of cubes, threatened to soviet heritage, should not pro russian. she hates, put in as much as the next person here. but she wants these testaments to the past to be preserved. standpoint that attracts a lot of hate online, the this monument display to, to be the next to go. so this is the monuments and nikolai shows a red army commander who says in ukraine during the russian civil war. so just to go over the revised no, this is you know, so i, so you haven't planning to tear it down for a long time. someone scroll down, it's tammy down. i am an execution and i just want to remind you all collage. what's the deal with that you're supposed to find it, but it's an amazing equestrian. the try this to be it's done. is that the junction

between 2 streets and dominates the scratch across the non. so it's beautiful which is great. but now we're just going to be left with another empty pedestal, insurance info. so for some you a government office and ukraine is in charge of this process of the soviet ization, ukrainian institute of national remembrance, as house and the former headquarters of the soviet secret police. its job is to banish the evil spirits of the soviet empire, the director, until under above, which once soviet monuments to be carefully documented before the removed from the streets the shores monument, he says, is a good example of one that needs to go to my mind with cave, if someone would send me stuff right on the center of kids is a monument to nikolai show us basically the commander of the city. when the

communists to power in the early 20th century is a whole. the communist show. thousands of people without trial to me, they looted in rob just for now and we erect a monument to show us the move on. there's no doubt it has artistic value, but it's not right that such monuments exist upon me. i think mike, would those be changed? best them you all a sudden it's like having a monument to the russian soldiers who raped and killed in foot chelsea's game. so nothing. it's no different. the way they want you to tell somebody started the novel, which was back in his office for the 1st time in months since the beginning of the war. he's been on the front serving as a drone pilot. this is lieutenant allowed him to take leave. so he could give this interview his co workers are happy to see him back unharmed. taking down monuments, finding russia on the front for double which these are 2 sides of the same site.

the, the main task of this institute is to help shape ukraine's national identity and patriarch videos. for example, it promotes the remembrance of the more the great famine engineered by stolen millions of ukrainian starve to death. something that we've never talked about for decades. the one i mean, you're one of the cadets. no, i'll see the soviet union and rewrote is the raised re defined whole chapters of history for suppose we should not only destroyed people. property also destroyed the memory of the event was for the moment a. it was a deliberate to tell a terry and undermining of the collective memory when they come up with an ama supply minute to get nobody to something that must be restored. that's the main task of our institutional lesson as a whole bunch of questions which soviet monuments can stay at which can the motherland monument is one of the key. it's

most recognizable landmarks. it won't be torn down. what about the soviet emblem on the shield? it's a symbol that's forbidden and ukraine. germany too is home to huge soviet monuments such as the soviet war memorial in the tier gotten part in the former west berlin, many ukrainian activists say that germany to needs to the soviet tice modern russia in general. so we use this with to you right now as a to continue with the processing right now. this is uh the showing of aggression uh and a flower which should not be as

a content as an immortal. it's not the memorial is just like the week to replace that shows. one they recounted you, we can come again. that's why the ukrainian activist collective feature made this set higher video the message stop the soviet install, just getting rid of the monuments, news item of the 2 tanks in front of the soviet more memorial have been removed. their disappearance is being investigated by city authorities. historians like york movie see things a bit differently. things in sort of of things are the way they are of history happened. oslyn, and we don't want to destroy it, erase it or change it to preserve it in nuns, on the as for what monuments represent decimal and the monument and always represent something that makes a statement. what's, are we trying to contextualize,

that ex told is even if it's a statement we know condemned to it, and we tried to remove its power within a change. all these other cuffs a name and your movie is the director of the museum berlin calls forced. this is where the german surrender was signed on the night of may, 9th, 1945 commemorating the red army as part of movies. job one. that is, become increasingly difficult until recently, it was called the german russian museum, cause was when putting invaded ukraine movie raised the ukrainian flag and remove the word russian from the museums name. but it still has a soviet tanks and whether he thinks the memorial into god should remain q gotten tons the to your garden tanks are a design component of the memorials. a,

it's a dilemma ration of the data within, within towards we made a commitment to, if i pushed on, i can get on with it. and the idea behind it is that word groups are inviolable for all the turn it is. it's something i agree with. infinity switched to the soviet forces were stationed at the memorial interior garden until 1990 and finally completely withdrew from eastern germany in 1994. this was one of the terms of the 2 plus for treating the international agreement, signed by the soviet union that allowed the reunification of germany as part of the agreement, germany pledge to assume maintenance and repair responsibility for all soviet warm memorials in the country. memorials that often loom large, such as the one into your garden. something some see is a symbol of russian imperialism. so it's actually very interesting because in this

budget line, could you receive that this soldier is like owning this land? yeah, the, it's for, uh right now he slammed ca. it's not about the people, it's about the land itself. we see that even that time. so between an already was under estimate the life itself. it's not about the uh, so the price and the life about that they have safe and not the lives. it's about the father. there were 2 sides to the soviet army. its soldiers, not only russians, but also millions of ukrainians and others as well. help defeat hitler and the nazis and liberated oceans in the process, though, the red army suffered by far the highest casualties of all the allied forces. but the soviets, also committed atrocities as they advanced, and went on to oppress half of europe for decades. in

the mornings to the red army, to have these 2 sides no rushes, war of aggression and the killings of innocent ukrainians have brought this evil side to the for the t. 34 tank monuments can be found across the eastern europe in poland. they're being dismantled, one after the other. the one that the $1000000000.00 cost worst museum is still there, despite its negative associations. much deductible and this is you stand in front of it and it's a powerful piece of equipment august. it just uses gail is formidable double. only regardless of the canon when the money and basically it was in del, on these tanks, was simply rolled over. people mentioned i'm probably biased. it's might as

terrifying as nevada, but it's an expression of power in my thoughts took off. so on the one hand to void you make it expresses the power, the red army because most which helps defeat fascist subscriber them. but in today's poland, it's seen primarily as a russian tank with russian is acquainted with soviet it's moscow which puts in the most no $1.00 and $1.00 sitting on both of them on the time as well as design. how would it be that we have a symbol of our lives? this insides, but no symbol of the ukrainians who died or were deported during the 2nd world war fire. there's nowhere for us to go on may 8th and say much. this is for us, is our, for our people or so what else there should be alternatives in places where you can go to show humility from where you can commemorating with contemplating. i'd feel this pain because this isn't the remembrance of celebration, but one is suffering death file so long as it's on the left

or what do we want to remember? and what do we want to forget. busy these are questions that many ukrainians ask themselves when contemplating their history, the back and keith it's not just need more to memorials being torn down. but anything that serves as a reminder of russia. instagram or, and these are sitting on shows us an example in the train station often used as a bomb shelter where many don't want to see russians depicted here as heroes. there's no point in some, just beyond this is the best of the russian kind of push can go to i mean to do it . well, this was a girl came in to laugh and let me know. so i didn't get them the novel distressed

plus they would cut it out because they might trigger and angry people. it was cool by so when you click on people kind of pushing and change smell. so these products have been voted out to the g t. lee versus a fidget seem to find the item maybe to protect them. it was a should choose was, but also so that people don't have to see them. and they said it was the thing you private. and i don't think this is how i should be treated. but if we have some use for us to be people of course have up to congress and match these boxes and destroy them. they have to be taken to a new c out 2 or to parks and given context, label to an explanation of what it is and why it's, yeah, i'm and thought of what they should. why do we have so many pushkin's and no set of bunches or 2 months months of bull shakespeare, and almost why push them or not? because pushkin is the most important power, the russian empire and the purposes can, you will always find pushing on the main square and try to shift tank up or less.

yeah. okay. gotcha. tucked away 4 squares for the input is not only a political construct to, but if it's an empire is something real quick and visible is what i get in its environment of the monuments as pillars up the russian empire. the that's how they're seen by many in the baltic states. and we got lucky at an 80 meters. soviet era obelisk was taken down a red army monument and the lithuanian capital vilnius was also dismantled as was a tank monument in nava estonia. all 3 of these former soviet states are now in the you. they take a tough approach to monuments for in this era, only grades and there monuments may remain the

moscow on may 9th, 2020, to 2 and a half months after the invasion of ukraine. put later, reese on a world war 2 monument as he does every year and is message russia undermine? leadership is the legitimate successor to the victorian soviet union. the in ukraine's of russian occupied territories. there were celebrations, marking the victory day on may, 9th, in mario pool. and if so, which has since been liberated the pollutants army following in the footsteps of its forefathers who fought the northeast as liberators of the allegedly oppressed russian minority. a narrative probably shelven and russian television seaboard yeah. when that couldn't yet,

today we finally get to where the st. george's ribbon again you, we, wherever it, with pride is got a mine of. and remember our armies who really needs you, which will never be forgotten. and you called at the news about, you know, building is up with the world war 2 memorials in germany. and so meaning places for pete and supporters like the soviet memorial and the lens trip to work in the members of the ukrainian active collective beach. i don't like coming here unfortunately, somehow i came to this place and i didn't know buttons his day was in, crow, rush, and pro put in what for k. through the brewing. they had to rush in flags. people work stream you out. and it was on the same way when the old world was shocked or what's happened and we'll just meet folded so wrong. and so it's appropriate that

it felt like celebration of killing of ukrainians. if there will be no warning minutes, it will be harder to work with this me since like to claim this identity over and over again. like you mentioned, there are no this great victory monuments, then they don't have a place to go. but isn't it important to preserve such places where soviet imperial power is displayed to understand how its propaganda worked and still works today? the the show here, the name of the person who committed genocide like this tony fiscal native genocide . because not just raise the culture but killed normal amount

of people. i cannot imagine us to have for example, in ukraine. some monuments was 6 or name, or we mentioned it anywhere else in the world. like everyone accuses the dispatcher shipped, they work with the memory and here we see like one of the main dictators of the 20th century. just having golden letters written his quotations in better than the inscription is even regularly maintained. why the bank money in germany, we have the law of monument protection, which means we preserve all kinds of things, including these monument lines. that's one point because, i mean, secondly, as a historian, i say yes, this has historical significance and you preserve it as it is back in keith at the ukranian institute of national, remember,

it's a stolen quote in gold letters director, antoine threat, both of which wouldn't stand for that here, but he understands that germany has its own view of history, the the fortune of my ability to stand still. there should definitely be a clock next to a histogram in russian with german ending listening with them and putting the monument in context. i mean, why is it a middle in office? what does the inscription mean? it's a dozen who is joseph stalin. when we show says it's dangerous because you'll only one step away from normalizing stylish or you're welcome and thought of states. and if kids vote by the old people who don't know anything of that history, they might think, look, he's been quoted here in the center of the land. no, he must be an okay. guy. hope i'm in the every. what's the thought center, but the southern money funding aflac given context for some monuments that could be

a solution. but for something like the friendship arch and key if it wouldn't be enough. in this case, another solution was found a crack in the arch that once symbolized friendship with russia, the work of art, but also a political statement artist, a lot he meant cause in yet. so i've added this crack in 2018 against the backdrop of calls for the release of ukrainian kremlin critics held in russian prisons. now with the war, his work has become a pointed symbol, the. there was a brand new maya black explorer and a solution of those by the arch, this huge, monumental event symbolized what was an artificial friendship. and of course, it was all propaganda. with the key to molly, possible, the friendship was meaningless to people who believe in the freedom and

independence of ukrainian states colon. you should attempt it. it was like a youth that you would put on the next of horses or oxen. governments said uh when they leave your husband, i see you all do, my shaw. what's the matter of christmas? ha. i think that's it. as 5, a lot of the cruising itself, it's on the crack on the object friendship between peoples. and what is one of the strongest artistic statements about just boston this of this friendship, and that'll be destroyed. friendship between russians, ukrainians, we move on to to i'm just not sure it goes far enough or younger from that as often . so it's wonderful just to, oh, it saves us to split because on this desktop across so sticky, just got those because again, i'm, you have to have from an aesthetic standpoint. i think the crack is just awful. you thought each has got arc on on such a beautiful metal arch, and then this picture on it is to me it's such an ugly addition to 5. what was the, what is the base of and tearing down the ok. if it saves it,

then it will have to stay for later and we will takes us to the key of suburb of hunting were last year. russian missiles hit residential buildings. the shelling left devastation in its wake with armanda collateral damage the russian army. supposedly the great protector of the soviet legacy destroyed a soviet monument. just like it would anything else here? the terrible, but you didn't rise in the heart on you. this is you defended us from the gym and occupies the rest of the new, occupies came and they destroyed as especially, or among the following many ukrainian names. the soviet soldiers who defeated fascism were by no means all the russians.

what type of them was the boy simpler, which is beautiful. the problem is that christian has hijacked the image of the soviets sold shod, c, c u, d e or on this board is it that this will be used as this glorification for propaganda against austin crane. and of course this also could i use, so i'm not going to pull chance band, we're letting him know that you want me, you know, we're giving him the body to these images. um, it's when actually they were made for us. it was for the right decision on them in to i use a story is on us is for who i think we should be using the money and the strength and the spirit of resistance among ukrainians. who so what's most small? what else? again says we're flushing occupying forces just as the money man, because of this. but instead we're tearing down these monuments small, assume the

associate monuments, 13 extra complete link to the question of identity. for some, they are monuments of oppression. expressions of rushes claim to power. for others, they are testaments to the past works of art, we're holding onto the ultimately there's a broad consensus that they shouldn't be destroyed, that they should be preserved. perhaps none of the original sites, but at least the museums assignment witnesses to the soviet empire of its greatness. and it's a treatments and it's atrocities the

slaves in the catholic church. the catholic nuns denounced the holy institution after being sexually abused for decades by their spiritual leaders. their cries for help or ignored by the vatican which has chosen to protect these powerful abusers. in 15 minutes on d. w. on the thing. india's geothermal potential in the high mountains of the human a spring could provide sustainable electricity. this height of the project pay the weights, excitement neutrality,

90 minutes on d, w. the . this is the building use line from berlin, ukraine's president back and key of after wrangling beans in allied weaponry for the mirrors, the landscape tides europe support for the fight. because the new arms and ammunition turned the tide where russia is backing on victory. also coming up 2 more weeks to decide turkey's president, the odds have turned against opposition.