Lenin Monument

Erected in 1987 to mark the 70th anniversary of the October Revolution, Tiraspol’s Lenin monument carries a fascinating and somewhat poignant backstory. The statue is considered the “younger brother” of a celebrated 19-meter pink granite monument that once stood in Berlin on Leninplatz — now United Nations Square — created in 1970 by the renowned Soviet sculptor Nikolai Tomsky.

Seventeen years later, working within Tomsky’s own studio, his student V.S. Klimachev crafted this new statue for Tiraspol, positioning it in front of the Supreme Council of Pridnestrovie where it continues to stand today. In a twist of historical irony, just four years after the Tiraspol monument’s creation, the original Berlin “big brother” was dismantled — leaving the Tiraspol Lenin as a unique surviving connection to a monument that no longer exists in its original location.

For visitors to Tiraspol, the Lenin monument has become something of an essential stop — widely regarded as one of the most recognizable attributes of the region’s Soviet heritage, and consistently one of the most photographed landmarks in the entire capital.

Location: In front of the Supreme Council building, Pokrovskaya Str., Tiraspol