Chiseled from appropriately-colored red granite, erected just after the end of World War II, this statue of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin gazed out upon the citizens of Ukraine with arrogance for sixty seven years. Two months ago, the bourgeoisie he so loathed had finally had enough.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Last December 1st, police in central Kiev protected the statue from EuroMaidan demonstrators ~
 

 
But alas for the monument to the Kremlin’s first Communist ruler, by December 8th protesters had gained the upper hand ~
 

 

And they decided it was finally time to topple the Bolshevik leader ~
 

 

 
The enthusiastic crowd took turns whacking the statue ~
 

 
As the EuroMaidan grass-roots movement enters its third month, protestors decided it was time to replace Lenin with something more appropriate ~
 

 

Behold… the “Golden Toilet” ~
 
 
February 3, 2014 ~ A golden toilet has been installed by activists on a pedestal in Kiev where a statue of Lenin used to stand before it was ripped down by protesters. [Kiev Post]
 
The commode is symbolic of what the protestors believe are the Ukrainian president’s excesses ~

Among the accusations against president Viktor Yanukovych that have fueled the demonstrations is the charge that he had gold toilets installed at his sprawling country estate near Kiev. [Kiev Post]

We can presume that Commrade Lenin, a stickler for “strictly revolutionary order,” who demanded the “merciless suppression of attempts at anarchy on the part of drunkards, hooligans, counterrevolutionaries and other persons” would not have been amused.

 
Related:

Ukraine and the growing number of disappeared ~ At least 36 of the EuroMaidan protestors have gone missing. As far as we know in America, none of our Tea Party leaders have “disappeared” – but some of the Yanukovych administration’s other totalitarian tactics sound frighteningly familiar ~

The first pillar of the (government’s efforts at silencing dissent) is straightforward harassment. Thousands of demonstrators have found their names, addresses and birth dates suddenly appearing online. These long lists also disclose the colour, make and registration number of their cars.
 
The effect of releasing this information – which could only have emerged from a government database – was incendiary in the literal sense. Cars belonging to protesters have been set ablaze in the middle of the night, with perhaps 200 receiving this treatment so far.

 
Jouralists’ Resistance ~ When it comes to courage and integrity the Ukrainians seem to have a much stauncher brand of journalist than we typically find in this country.