Ukraine's Post-Soviet Identity Through the Murky Lens of Its Statues
On Wednesday, the Ukrainian cabinet of ministers announced it would be erecting a statue in the coming years dedicated to Symon Petliura, a Ukrainian soldier and statesman who fought for the country’s independence from Russia, Poland, and Germany. The politics of the construction—and destruction—of Soviet-era monuments in Ukraine continues to rage unabated as the nation carries on with the process of decommunization and the building of a truly post-Soviet identity. The construction of Ukrainian statehood outside of the parameters of the Soviet legacy require a historical foundation in a country whose historical legacy of freedom fighting is firmly bounded up with unsavory political identities.
The nationalist Petliura was assassinated in Paris in 1926 by Jewish anarchist Sholom Schwartzbard. Petliura is an infamously complex character in terms of Jewish-Ukrainian relations and his historical legacy remains contested. That legacy is marked by his having been unable to control elements of his army from committing anti-Jewish pogroms as well as numerous instances of his personal kindness to Jews in the midst of a truly horrific, multi-sided conflict.
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