A nine-meter Lenin statue stands in the north of the Netherlands. It is one of the largest Lenin monuments ever moved to Western Europe. The statue has a long and unusual journey, from East Germany to East Groningen, and that story makes it worth a closer look.

The statue was unveiled in 1971 in Merseburg, a city in what was then East Germany. It showed Vladimir Lenin in a classic pose. He points forward with his right arm, a gesture meant to show the path to socialism. This type of pose appeared all over the Soviet bloc. The statue is made of bronze and weighs around 17,000 kilos. Its height is about nine meters, which made it a dominant presence in public space. Like many Lenin monuments, it was part of daily life during the socialist period.

Multiple artists

Sculptors Michael Baburin and Galina Lewizkaja and architects Jevgeni Kuturew and Georgiy Ivanovich Gavrilov are the creators of the statue. The work was a collaborative Soviet production, typical of large socialist realist monuments at the time, often involving both sculptors from the USSR and local artistic supervision or foundry expertise. It is an exact copy of the statue of Lenin on Lenin Square in the city of Ufa, in the Russian Republic of Bashkortostan.

Arrival in the Netherlands

After German reunification, attitudes changed fast. In 1991, the city of Merseburg removed the statue. It was not destroyed, but placed in storage. For several years, it stood hidden in a hangar, waiting for a new fate. In 1997, a Dutch entrepreneur bought a former Soviet military airfield near Merseburg. The stored Lenin statue was part of the site. He decided to bring the statue to the Netherlands.

The statue was transported to Tjuchem, a small village in the province of Groningen. The entrepreneur placed the statue at the terrain of his construction company. For many locals, it was a surprise. A giant Lenin suddenly stood in a quiet rural landscape.

One detail became famous. The pointing hand of Lenin was jokingly described as if he were trying to hail a taxi.

A Traveling Monument

Over the years, the statue did not stay in one place. It appeared at several locations and exhibitions in the Netherlands. It was shown in Enschede, Assen, and near Bad Nieuweschans. Each time, the context changed. Sometimes it was presented as history. Sometimes as provocation.

Today, the statue can again be seen in East Groningen, back near Tjuchem. Removed from its original political setting, it now functions as a historical object. It no longer directs society, but it still attracts attention.