Darth Vader Replaces Lenin Statue In Ukraine

A statue of Vladimir Lenin was recently replaced by one of Darth Vader in Odessa, Ukraine, after the country banned Communist symbols.

DARTH VADER REPLACES VLADIMIR LENIN

A law was recently passed in Ukraine banning Communist symbols, which meant a statue of Lenin in Odessa had to go. Instead of leaving the site vacant, the city decided to replace the famed historical villain with another evildoer: Darth Vader.

The new statue was unveiled on Friday. Ukrainian artist Aleksander Milov was behind the creation of the new Vader statue, using the old statue as a basis, and merely replacing the head with Vader’s helmet and transforming Lenin’s coattails into Vader’s cape. Vader’s helmet also doubles as a Wi-Fi hot-spot.

While Ukraine embraces Vader, Russia isn’t as pleased with this shift towards a more westernized culture. A new political movement, known as The Darth Vader movement, has recently emerged in Ukraine where several “Dark lords” have run for mayorship of Kiev and Odessa, and last year an anonymous, masked man ran for president, but authorities denied his registration because he would not reveal his true identity.

This Pirate Party is one of many that have emerged in Ukraine where the members support the defense of limits on copyright laws and Internet freedom.