Statue of Liberty replica torn down in Russia

The Miniatures Park in the Crimean town of Bakhchisarai took down its replica of the Statue of Liberty on Friday. The head of the Crimean parliament, Vladimir Konstantinov, called the move a message to the US.

“We simply won’t put up with the attitude of the US towards our country,” Konstantinov wrote on Telegram. “Americans should think about why our country and many other civilized societies around the world aren’t willing to tolerate them anymore.”

Russia has more than enough of its own monuments that can be showcased at the park, the lawmaker said, adding that the American statue can “go home.”

The 1:25 replica of the statue was blindfolded and taken down from its pedestal, which was also removed from the park. 

Bakhchisarai is a community of about 30,000, located midway between Sevastopol and Simferopol. The miniature park features 1:25 scale replicas of 86 notable historical, cultural and architectural sights from around Crimea, as well as a special selection of monuments that still lists the Statue of Liberty. Adjacent to the park is a zoo with more than 2,000 animals.

Officially known as ‘Liberty Enlightening the World’, the French-made statue has stood at the entrance to New York City since 1886, the work of sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi and engineer Gustave Eiffel.

The Bakhchisarai park featured its replica alongside the ‘Motherland Calls’ statue commemorating the 1942-43 Battle of Stalingrad, and the ‘Motherland’ statue that has stood in Kiev since 1981. The Ukrainian government recently changed the coat of arms on the original to the trident favored by nationalists, leaving the Bakhchisarai replica as a testament to its previous look.

Crimeans voted overwhelmingly to rejoin Russia after the Western-backed Maidan coup in Ukraine in 2014. Kiev and its Western backers have insisted that the referendum was illegitimate and consider the peninsula a part of Ukraine.

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