Finland angers Russia with removal of Soviet Union World Peace statue

A World Peace statue donated by the Soviet Union was removed from its pedestal in Helsinki, Finland, angering Russia, on Monday, August 8.

The removal of the controversial Soviet Union World Peace statue in Helsinki, Finland was carried out before 7.am, with the statue set to be transported out of Helsinki by sea on a barge.

The distance from the statue’s original location to the barge was about ten metres. The move reportedly took just over five minutes, but has been in preparation for over a week, as reported by YLE.

The statue will be replaced by a pavement, with a tramway currently being built in the area.

The World Peace statue is owned by the Helsinki Art Museum (HAM) and will be transported to a warehouse designated by the museum in the eastern part of Uusimaa, Finland.

A photo of the removal of the statue was shared on Twitter:

yep let's remove history this is the way didn't Russia did that before. weird you doing the same shit as them

— Sam ✘ (@SamziIla) August 8, 2022

The City of Moscow donated the statue to Helsinki in 1989. It was unveiled to the public in 1990. 

The monument was damaged in 1991 by students who poured tar on it, and was attempted to be blown up in 2010.

During the spring of 2022, the words “world peace” were inscribed on the statue’s base, with Ukrainian flags being draped over the hands of the statue’s human figures.

The news of the removal of the Soviet Union World Peace statue in Finland follows reports of Estonia set to remove a WWII Soviet T-34 tank statue in Narva, a move that has reportedly enraged Russia, as reported on Thursday, August 4.

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