Through the middle years of the 20th century, the former Soviet Union saw the construction of some of the largest and most imposing statues and monuments in the world, glorifying Soviet leaders - in particular Lenin and Stalin - and celebrating all aspects of life under Communist rule, from collective farming and national industrial effort, to the early successes of manned space flight.  Today, these triumphalist monuments celebrating a past regime divide opinion across post-Communist and post-Soviet society.  While many monuments remain as a vivid reminder of the country's history, others have been toppled in protest or quietly dismantled.

Discover the fate of some of these monuments here.