UINM Recommends Dismantling Mikhail Faleyev Pedestal in Mykolaiv

By Ahmet Taş | Wise News Press

MYKOLAIV, UKRAINE — The Ukrainian Institute of National Memory (UINM) has officially recommended the complete dismantling of the pedestal belonging to the former Mikhail Faleyev monument in Mykolaiv.

This advisory marks a new chapter in the ongoing debate over the city's public symbolic space. While the statue itself was removed years ago, the remaining base has now come under scrutiny for its textual content, which the Institute deems inconsistent with current national memory policies.

The Inscription Controversy

In a recent letter, the UINM noted that the pedestal currently retains an inscription defining Mikhail Faleyev as the "builder of the city of Mykolaiv." This designation is viewed through the lens of a February 13, 2026, recommendation regarding the removal of monuments and their bases from public spaces.

The Institute argued that the presence of the pedestal and its specific wording necessitates a "full dismantling," ensuring that the symbolic footprint of the former monument is entirely removed from Fleet Boulevard.

A Shifting Symbolic Status

The status of Mikhail Faleyev has fluctuated significantly within Ukrainian administrative records over the last few years:

• October 2022: The monument was initially dismantled under the pretext of ensuring its safety during the conflict.

• October 2025: The UINM reversed its stance, removing Faleyev from the list of individuals and events containing symbols of Russian imperial policy. This theoretically allowed for the statue's unobstructed return to its original site.

Bureaucratic Limbo and Discovery

Despite being cleared of imperial symbolic status, the physical monument has faced a series of bureaucratic hurdles. Local cultural authorities informed "News-N" that the Faleyev sculpture lacks the official status of a historical or monumental art piece. Consequently, it does not fall under the monitoring system of the monument protection department, leaving decisions regarding its installation or storage outside their jurisdiction.

Investigations into the statue's whereabouts initially yielded no results from the local history museum or "Mykolaiv Parks," the entity responsible for Fleet Boulevard. It was only after public inquiries that the monument was located in a warehouse belonging to a municipal enterprise tasked with road infrastructure maintenance.

The latest UINM recommendation to remove the pedestal suggests that, despite Faleyev's name being cleared, the physical remnants of the monument remain a point of contention in the city's decolonization efforts.

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