Helsinki removes monument gifted by Soviet Union
The city of Helsinki on Monday morning removed the "World Peace" monument that Finland got as a present from the Soviet Union and the location of which will be paved over for a pedestrian path.
The monument was removed a little before 7 a.m. on Monday, Finnish public broadcaster Yle reported.
The city will replace the monument with a new pedestrian walkway on Hakaniemenranta. The "World Peace" monument is owned by the Helsinki Art Museum and will be taken into storage. Its final fate will be decided at a later time.
Moscow presented Helsinki with the monument in 1989 and it was opened to the public in 1990. The monument stands 6.5 meters tall and depicts people holding a coroneted globe in closed fists.
The controversial monument sparked lively debate back when it was first erected. It was damaged after three students tarred and feathered it in 1991, making it clear they thought the Soviet statue had no place in Helsinki.
One of the students was Mikael Jungner who later became the head of Yle.
There was a failed attempt to blow up the monument in 2010.
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Editor: Marcus Turovski
Source: Yle
