‘Skaters know their history’ A Russian town turned a Lenin monument into a skateboard ramp. Not everyone is pleased.

‘Skaters know their history’ A Russian town turned a Lenin monument into a skateboard ramp. Not everyone is pleased.

In a Russian town not far from Yekaterinburg, officials transformed a public square featuring a monument to Vladimir Lenin into a skate park — with the statue’s pedestal repurposed as a ramp. The project was commissioned by the local government, but after backlash from Communist Party members, authorities announced that the park would be relocated. Journalist and architecture critic Asya Zolnikova explains how the project inspired skaters and de…

Finally, we arrived. The endless relief, an indescribable play of colors. Before us, as if in the palm of our hand, all latitudes, all climates. The sun shone irresistibly. A little below, the vegetation of the north; further on, the succulent lakes of the Alps and the turbulent green cover of the south. I was inspired by a high style and was ready to recite Shakespeare, Byron. I looked at Vladimir Ilyich. He was sitting, deep in thought, and su…