A monument to Vladimir Lenin was unveiled on Thursday in the center of Valdai, a town in the Veliky Novgorod Region in northwest Russia, to mark the 140th birthday of the founder of the Soviet state, a town spokesman said.
The statue was erected on the initiative of the Valdai branch of the Russian Communist Party and a group of World War II veterans.
The metal monument to the revolutionary leader graced a local military base in Soviet times, but after the base was dismantled it was moved to the territory of one of Valdai's utility firms on the outskirts of the city.
About five years ago, when the statue's owners were in financial trouble, some businessmen offered to buy it for about $15,000. They were turned away, and this time the state paid 100,000 rubles ($3,200) for the monument.
VELIKIY NOVGOROD, April 22, (RIA Novosti)
