The shot in the back (monument)
Encyclopedia
The Shot in the Back is monument in Simferopol
, Ukraine
, funded by Crimea
n residents and the Communist Party of Ukraine
(KPU) to commemorate Soviet citizens
and Red Army
soldiers who died fighting the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) during and after World War II
. Standing 3.5 meters high, the monument was installed on Sovetskaya square. It was unveiled on 14 September of 2007.
.
On the base of the monument is an inscription bearing Soviet-style rhetoric, stating it is "In memory of the victims of the Soviet people who died at the hands of the fascist accomplices – members of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and Ukrainian Insurgent Army.” The base of the monument has been repeatedly vandalized.
Communists played a leading role in the whole preparation of the monument as well as its unveiling ceremony. At the ceremony, the head of the CPU criticized the Yuschenko government's interpretation of the war. The unveiling was met with protests by Crimean national-democrats.
Simferopol
-Russian Empire and Civil War:The city was renamed Simferopol in 1784 after the annexation of the Crimean Khanate to the Russian Empire by Catherine II of Russia. The name Simferopol is derived from the Greek, Συμφερόπολις , translated as "the city of usefulness." In 1802, Simferopol became the...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, funded by Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
n residents and the Communist Party of Ukraine
Communist Party of Ukraine
The Communist Party of Ukraine is a political party in Ukraine, currently led by Petro Symonenko.The party fights the Ukrainian national self-determination by identifying any Ukrainian national parties as the National-Fascist ones The Communist Party of Ukraine is a political party in Ukraine,...
(KPU) to commemorate Soviet citizens
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
soldiers who died fighting the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) during and after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Standing 3.5 meters high, the monument was installed on Sovetskaya square. It was unveiled on 14 September of 2007.
History of the monument
The author of the monument is sculptor Evgeni Yablonsky. The monument depicts a female figure holding a wounded man, which is meant to symbolize Soviet citizens and soldiers who were "shot in the back" by Ukrainian nationalistsUkrainian nationalism
Ukrainian nationalism refers to the Ukrainian version of nationalism.Although the current Ukrainian state emerged fairly recently, some historians, such as Mykhailo Hrushevskyi, Orest Subtelny and Paul Magosci have cited the medieval state of Kievan Rus' as an early precedents of specifically...
.
On the base of the monument is an inscription bearing Soviet-style rhetoric, stating it is "In memory of the victims of the Soviet people who died at the hands of the fascist accomplices – members of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and Ukrainian Insurgent Army.” The base of the monument has been repeatedly vandalized.
Communists played a leading role in the whole preparation of the monument as well as its unveiling ceremony. At the ceremony, the head of the CPU criticized the Yuschenko government's interpretation of the war. The unveiling was met with protests by Crimean national-democrats.