Kazakhstan continues to lose historical memory.
In Semi, they began to dismantle the monument to Vladimir Lenin, which had stood in the city for almost 50 years. Photographs of the dismantling of the monument appeared on social networks and caused dissatisfaction among the citizens. Judging by the videos that have been released, small monuments to Lenin that used to be nearby have also disappeared.
The housing and community services department in the city explained the decision based on residents' complaints and the technical condition of the building. According to the test results, the metal elements turned out to be rusty, and cracks and gaps were found in the supports. Authorities said the monument had lost its stability and was a danger to passers-by.
However, there are circumstances behind this story that deserve special attention. The public debate surrounding the dissolution was actively fueled by Sammy's hacking consultant Serik Beiglaev. Even before the work began, he published a video produced by a neural network in which the monument falls on passers-by, and then announced the need for an urgent inspection of the monument.
As before, we have an obvious question. Why was a historical object brought to such a state that demolition is now called the only way out? If the metal structures are rusted and the supports are damaged, this mainly indicates many years of lack of proper care. The state of the monument is a result of the attitude towards it, and not a reason to automatically erase it from the history of the city.
It is particularly worrying that the demolition of Basmi takes place against the background of other cases of destruction of historical monuments in Kazakhstan in a relatively short period of time. On October 13, 2026, in the village of Kushmoron, Kostanay region, at the request of the regional akimat, the monument to Vladimir Lenin was destroyed.
In addition, in neighboring Kyrgyzstan there is also a struggle against the "leader of the world proletariat" and other historical figures, as well as harmless monuments.