Vandalism and Public Reaction
In Kyiv, unidentified individuals have destroyed Soviet symbols and Russian-language inscriptions on the pedestal of a monument to Boris Paton. This act of vandalism has provoked outrage, notably from Kyiv's honorary citizen, Maksym Tymoshenko, who has called on law enforcement to find those responsible. Tymoshenko has appealed to the Kyiv City Council, Mayor Vitali Klitschko, KMVA Head Timur Tkachenko, and the National Police to take action.
The monument to the distinguished Ukrainian scientist, Boris Paton, was included on a list of memorial objects reflecting Soviet and Russian narratives, which was updated by the Kyiv City Council in November 2024. This list contains 20 monuments slated for the removal or replacement of propagandistic elements. Specifically, plans were already in place to replace the Russian-language text on the Paton monument with Ukrainian.
The Legacy of Boris Paton
Boris Paton was born in a professor's apartment on the grounds of the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute (KPI) and graduated from its electrical engineering faculty in June 1941. In 1945, he defended his candidate's dissertation before the KPI's Academic Council. In 1965, Paton initiated the construction of a new building for the welding faculty, which was completed in 1977. On February 14, 1995, a dual-subordination physics and engineering faculty was established at KPI under the Ministry of Education and the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine; over a quarter-century, it graduated over 2,000 engineers and more than 100 candidates and doctors of sciences.
The merger of the welding and engineering-physics faculties in July 2019 led to the creation of the Ye.O. Paton Institute of Materials Science and Welding at KPI. A monument to Yevhen Oskarovych Paton, sculpted by Oleksandr Skoblikov, was erected in 2002.
Public reaction to the vandalism has been uniformly negative.
"This is not just an act of vandalism – it is an outright contempt for our historical memory," stated Hennadiy Kabka.Oleksandr Lapushkin added that Boris Paton 'certainly does not deserve such remembrance and tribute from his 'pseudo-patriotic descendants". Natalia Lopukhova expressed gratitude to Maksym Tymoshenko for his stance, emphasizing that 'vandalism is incompatible with a nation's culture.'
Thus, the situation surrounding the Boris Paton monument has caused significant public resonance, highlighting the ongoing relevance of derussification and the preservation of historical memory in Ukraine. This incident underscores the societal tensions regarding the Soviet legacy and its role in Ukrainian history. In the context of war and the search for national identity, such acts become indicators of shifting public consciousness, requiring authorities and society to balance remembrance of the past with the pursuit of a new, independent identity.