Zelensky proposes Cossack leader monument instead of toppled Lenin statue in Kyiv
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President Volodymyr Zelensky on June 28 proposed erecting a monument to Cossack Hetman Ivan Mazepa on the site where a statue of Vladimir Lenin was toppled during the EuroMaidan Revolution in Kyiv, calling it a step toward restoring "historical justice."
"I am certain that where Lenin fell, Mazepa will stand firm," Zelensky said, speaking during Constitution Day commemorations.
Mazepa is regarded in Ukraine as one of the country's most prominent historical leaders.
Leading the Cossacks in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, he initially allied with Russian Tsar Peter I before siding with Moscow's rival, Sweden, during the Great Northern War in an effort to free the Cossack Hetmanate from Russian rule.
For centuries, Russian imperial and Soviet narratives portrayed Mazepa as a traitor, while in Ukraine, he has increasingly been recognized as a symbol of the country's struggle for independence.
Zelensky presented a bust of Mazepa at the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, which held special significance for Mazepa. He financed the construction and restoration of churches, fortifications, and other buildings that shaped much of the monastery's distinctive Ukrainian Baroque architecture.
The proposal comes less than two weeks after the 975-year-old Lavra was damaged in a Russian attack on Kyiv on June 15. The strike caused a fire on the roof of the Dormition Cathedral, one of Ukraine's holiest Christian sites, prompting the emergency evacuation of icons and other religious artifacts.
Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine has been removing Russian imperial and Soviet-era monuments. The effort is part of a broader campaign to dismantle symbols of Russian domination and restore Ukrainian historical figures to public spaces.
"For centuries, Russia has smeared (Mazepa's) name, striving to make Ukrainians view their own history through the eyes of others, convincing our people that Mazepa was a traitor. This lie has failed. Forever," Zelensky said.
