Statues, Monuments, and Memorials
When does public art become diplomacy?
In August, the Estonian government announced that it would remove from display a monument to Soviet soldiers who helped free Estonia from the Nazis in the Second World War. Officials cited a risk to public order because of Russia’s influence over the border region, which includes many Russian-speaking residents. The action is just one result of rising tensions in Europe as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The building and removal of statues and monuments has long been an issue with diplomatic implications. Even in Estonia the removal of Soviet era monuments is nothing new. The removal of a war memorial in the capital Tallinn in 2007 prompted diplomatic protests from Russia and increased tensions between the two countries.
Other former Eastern Bloc countries have taken similar measures, including the removal of more than 400 monuments, mostly to Red Army soldiers, in Poland (source in Russian).
Monuments often serve as more than just public art or reminders of past people and events — their placement and presence can create and reinforce narratives about the past, especially regarding war and conflict. “The creation of historical narratives plays an important role in forging a country’s contemporary political alliances and partnerships, and in differentiating it from its enemies, real or imagined.”¹
Even the Statue of Liberty, which stands in New York Harbor — a gift from France to the United States in 1876 — has had shifting diplomatic significance. It is popularly thought of as a symbol of liberty and freedom. However, at the time, France and the United States were in the middle of a tariff war, with France concerned about its diminishing economic power in North America. The 305-foot statue was at least partially intended to be an unmissable reminder of the strength and importance of France to the United States.² Since the early 20th century, the Statue of Liberty has also been a symbol of immigration to the US, an issue which is closely tied with shifting diplomacy and the consequences of inter-state conflict.
The construction of monuments as instruments of diplomacy continues today. Mansudae, a North Korean state-run artists’ studio, has produced and funded dozens of monuments for other countries, including many in Africa, as a way of exporting their worldview and fostering positive feelings about the state whose international relations are otherwise fraught.
¹Klymenko, L. “Forging common history: Russia’s cultural statecraft and the Soviet Second World War monuments in Europe” in Russia’s Cultural Statecraft, Tuomas Forsberg and Sirke Mäkinen, eds., Abingdon: Routledge, 2022. pp 75–97.
²Blumenthal, H., “French-American economic relations, 1971–1900” in France and the United States: Their Diplomatic Relations, 1789–1914. Chapel Hill: U North Carolina, 1970. pp. 167–80.
