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from the sometimes-I-think-we-are-all-mad dept.
In the next step of the Darth Vader movement in Ukraine, and coming just before the new Star Wars movie is out, a statue of Lenin was replaced with a statue of Darth Vader.
Ukrainians have transformed a statue of Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin into one of Darth Vader in the city of Odessa. The absurd but highly-symbolic move comes just before the release of the latest "Star Wars" movie.
The founder of the former communist state, the Soviet Union, has long been despised by many Ukrainians. In April, the government passed a law, ordering all symbols of the Soviet era to be removed from the country.
"After the anti-communism law was adopted earlier this year, we had to decide what to do with the monument [of Lenin]," Oleksandr Milov, the sculptor of the new statue, told the AFP news agency. A 'real life' Vader, one of several in Ukraine, was on hand to check that the new statue was 'fully operational'
"Honestly, I did not like the idea of destroying it, so we decided on a more flexible solution," he said, adding that they were planning to install a Wi-fi router on the statue's head so that he can "communicate with the other Siths."
(Score: 5, Insightful) by schad on Sunday October 25 2015, @06:32PM
I would [wikipedia.org]. Lenin was not a nice guy. He was willing to sacrifice anyone and anything to achieve his goal. And that's pretty much exactly what he did. Yes, Stalin killed more people. Yes, Stalin cared only about his personal ambition rather than any sort of selfless desire to improve the lot of Russian peasants. But all the tools Stalin used to commit his atrocities were created -- and used; extensively and with equal ruthlessness -- by Lenin.
If the strongest defense you can make is that he wasn't as bad as Hitler or Stalin, well...
(Score: 2) by gnuman on Monday October 26 2015, @01:05AM
The purpose of Red Terror was to root out opposition at the time of a Russian Civil War. And Red Terror-like events are not unique in Russian history of that period (not talking about Stalinist purges later on)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolution_of_1905 [wikipedia.org]
Tsar Nicolas put down 1905 revolution with ruthless force, just like his predecessors did. And he learned nothing just to keep the people under his heel. Well, maybe he added a veneer of caring. And earlier, Tsar Nicolas I did similar things.
If the strongest defense you can make is that he wasn't as bad as Hitler or Stalin, well...
You can't compare him to either. Maybe to China's Mao Zedong. Lenin's legacy is an example of "road to hell is paved with good intentions". We'll never really know how Lenin would have turned out anyway since he became disabled almost immediately after the Russian civil war (strokes). Let's just say that Lenin's Revolution probably saved a few Russian lives being thrown into the WWI grinder.
Now, Stalin, or especially Hitler, I hope there is a special place in hell reserved for them.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by schad on Monday October 26 2015, @02:39AM
You're right. Rebellions have been put down ruthlessly not just by tsars but also by kings and emperors all over the world. The fact that it's sadly commonplace throughout human history doesn't make it acceptable, nor does it exculpate those responsible. If the tsars were monsters for their brutal oppression, then so too was Lenin. I don't really care if he believed the ends justified the means. They didn't. They almost never do. And you should be deeply suspicious of anyone who tells you otherwise.
Not all zealots are religious. But their actions once they get into a position of power tend to be remarkably similar, no matter the starting point.