Looking for Lenin? Fuel Publishing launch new photo book

The striking images of Vladimir Lenin being toppled from his Kiev pedestal by protesters became an emblem of the Euromaidan movement. But what happened to the many Lenin monuments that met their (literal) downfall in Ukraine’s decommunisation process? Photographer Niels Ackermann and journalist Sébastien Gobert journeyed across Ukraine to find out.

Looking for Lenin, made by Fuel Publishing, saw Ackermann and Gobert seek out the victims of the Leninopad (Lenin-fall) phenomenon. Their fates were numerous: Lenin might be found in gardens and scrapyards, dismembered or disguised as Darth Vader or a Cossack.

Ackermann’s images are accompanied by witness testimonies, affording insight into how Ukrainians view this phenomenon, and the links between their country’s Soviet history and its future more broadly.

Looking for Lenin will be released on 23 May. It is available for pre-order here.