Homel authorities say painting the monument to Lenin is a sign of insanity

The architecture and city building board of the Homel City Executive Committee gave an answer to the application of the civil activist Kastus Zhukouski who asked to be allowed to paint the monument to Lenin in the center of the city. According to the applicant, he got this idea after seeing the paintings on the walls of the historical buildings that are considered to be historically heritage protected by the law.

Mr. Zhukouski asked the authorities to allow him to paint the "monument to Lenin which looks gray and gloomy against the background of a church and a park" in order to "attract foreign investments and tourists and to facilitate a generally positive perception of the country".

The architecture and city building board answered to the oppositionist in the Belarusian language, as far as according to the Law "On civil applications" the authorities are obliged to give answers in the language of the application. However, the document was full of mistakes, demonstrating the level of the authorities' illiteracy.

They called that painting on this monument would be a sign of an ill taste and insanity of the author of the address.