Belarusian Town To Restore Lenin Monument That Killed Man

HOMEL, Belarus -- Officials say they will repair a Lenin statue that broke and killed a 21-year-old man in the southeastern Belarusian town of Uvaravichy who climbed it, RFE/RL's Belarus Service reports.

Uvaravichy Council Chairman Ihar Ivanchykau said on August 11 that the monument will be fully restored. The upper portion of the statue of Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin fell on the unnamed young man on August 10 when he climbed atop the seven-meter monument and tried to hang from Lenin's famous outstretched arm. He was seriously injured and died en route to a hospital in the nearby city of Homel.

Ihar Lebedz, the deputy chief of the Interior Affairs Department in the Buda-Kashalyousky district of Homel Oblast, told RFE/RL that an investigation is under way.

He said if it is proven that the victim climbed on the monument voluntarily then the case will be closed.