Deletion of Lenin’s statue from Ukraine’s ‘2012 Euro Cup promo video’ outrages supporters
By ANIFriday, February 18, 2011
LONDON - The deletion of the 30 feet statue of Marxist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin from a 90-second promotional video advertising Ukraine’s heritage for the 2012 European Football Championship has outraged many in the former Soviet Union nation, who believe that the authorities are “embarrassed that we were once Communists”.
Producers of the ‘Switch On Ukraine’ video had reportedly digitally erased the revolutionary hero’s statue because of a policy banning commercial or political advertising in promotional material for Euro 2012.
The Daily Mail quoted government spokewoman Dina Turchina as saying that Kiev’s 62 metre Motherland statue, another Soviet era landmark, was however portrayed in the video because “it ‘is already a well-known element of our capital’s skyline”.
Images of orthodox Christian statues and churches were also left in, but a McDonald’s in Kiev’s Maidan Square was also deleted, the paper said.
Ukraine, which will co-host the tournament with Poland next year, has been bombarded with criticisms online over the issue.
“The video shows really well that they’re only going to turn the lights on in the country for the championship. Once the competition is over, they’re going to turn everything off!” one blogger with the user name, Ekaterina2810, wrote.
Another accused officials of trying to rewrite the country’s history, adding: “They are embarrassed that we were once Communists and that we were part of Soviet Russia.”
The tournament will be co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine between June 8 and July 1, 2012. (ANI)
