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Jul 20, 2023

Toppling Soviet statues

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Amid outrage at Putin's war in Ukraine, memorials commemorating the Red Army's victory over fascism are being torn down across Eastern Europe. But don't Soviet troops who helped defeat the Nazis in World War II deserve to be remembered?

In Ukraine and across Eastern Europe, monuments dating back to Soviet times are being torn down. But shouldn't we preserve them as a way of commemorating history?

Few seem to think so. But some believe that tearing down these testaments to Soviet victories plays into Putin's hands. According to his propaganda, Russia still identifies with the Soviet Union, and the Russian army under his leadership is fighting the same battle as the Red Army once did.

Yet many countries that suffered under Soviet rule see these statues and monuments as symbols of Russian imperialism and oppression. Germany, too, is home to many Soviet monuments that are even being restored, and critical voices are getting louder.

Over 100 years after the founding of the Soviet Union on December 30, 1922, this documentary shows the challenges of dealing with these monuments of the past. We journey to Ukraine, to the Baltic States and to visit the Soviet memorials in Berlin.