Vilnius authorities want to remove the sculptures of Soviet soldiers at Antakalnis cemetery and have already asked the Department of Cultural Heritage for permission.
“We looked at what we had and found the only Soviet eyesore – six granite sculptures, one of them with a rifle – standing in the Soviet graves’ section of the cemetery,” Vilnius Mayor Remigijus Šimasius wrote on Facebook on Thursday.
According to him, this sculpture ensemble is protected as cultural heritage in Lithuania, along with the adjacent graves of Soviet soldiers.
“Of course, we will not touch the gravestones, but I will initiate the removal of the sculpture ensemble, as no one is buried under them, and the Soviet habit of turning cemeteries into memorials for ideological idols is repulsive,” the Vilnius mayor said.
Vilnius municipality has already contacted the Department of Cultural Heritage. If permission is granted to remove the ensemble, the six sculptures will be transferred to Grūtas Park of Soviet-era relics near Druskininkai, according to Šimašius.
Lithuania started reviewing and dismantling Soviet memorial signs in various locations around the country after Russia invaded Ukraine.
In April, Culture Minister Simonas Kairys signed an order giving leeway for the country’s municipalities to decide on the fate of the Soviet memorials at their cemeteries.
Read more: Lithuanian municipalities allowed to remove Soviet heritage at cemeteries
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