In Tatarbunary, Odesa Oblast, city officials covered up a monument to the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin instead of dismantling it following an incident involving its renovation.
This was reported by the civic organization “Decolonization. Ukraine.”
According to activists, the monument was hidden following public outcry over its restoration.
“After the scandal over the restoration of the Pushkin monument, they decided not to dismantle it, but to hide it,” the organization noted.
PHOTO: Decolonization. Ukraine
Activists questioned why the authorities are protecting this monument.
“And the question arises: why are they so protective of this monument?” the organization asked.
On February 19, the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine removed two cultural heritage sites in the city of Tatarbunary from the State Register of Immovable Monuments of Ukraine. These are a monument to the Russian poet Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin and the historic site where he stayed.
In March, the Tatarbunary City Council reported that it was awaiting an official conclusion from the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory.
In late September 2026, the city council stated that the damaged Pushkin monument had been restored rather than dismantled.
Subsequently, the Tatarbunar City Council stated that it had no involvement in the restoration of the Pushkin bust. It was allegedly repaired by a local resident on his own initiative.
Authorities claimed that not a single kopeck from the budget had been spent on the restoration. The “restorer” turned out to be a local resident who lives near the monument. He had been doing repairs at home and had some unused cement left over.
The man noticed that plaster was falling off the neglected bust in chunks. He then repaired the cracks and reinforced the damaged parts so that, in his words, “it wouldn’t collapse.”
City council officials emphasized that the man’s actions had no ideological, political, or pro-Russian undertones.
