Russian-speaking Lithuanians upset at plans to remove Soviet-era monuments | World news | The Guardian
▻http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/16/russian-speaking-lithuanians-upset-plans-remove-soviet-era-monuments
They are four sculptures that bring a nostalgic dollop of socialist realism to the heart of an EU capital: on the Green Bridge over the Neris river in Vilnius the approaches are dominated by monuments to heroic Soviet archetypes: soldiers, workers, farmers and students.
But for how much longer? Plans to remove the badly corroded monoliths for repairs are proving highly controversial in Lithuania, particularly among the Russian-speaking minority.
The newly elected mayor of Vilnius, Remigijus Šimašius, has insisted that the sculptures will be taken away, probably by the end of July, for repairs. But rumours abound that once removed, they will never be returned.
