For 50 years, a 23-meter, 7.5-ton statue of Vadimir Lenin swept his arm out over Kyrgyzstan’s second city of Osh from a perch above the central square. Then one morning, he disappeared.

Authorities in Osh, Kyrgyzstan, have removed a 75-foot (23-meter) statue of Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin, once believed to be the tallest in Central Asia. Skip to content Menu Today's paper.

Protesters rally in front of a statue of Soviet Union founder Vladimir Lenin on a central square in the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh, Kyrgyzstan, on Thursday, Nov. 3, 2011. (AP Photo/Nicolas Tanner ...

Authorities in the second-largest city in Kyrgyzstan, Osh, have removed a towering statue of Vladimir Lenin thought to be the tallest of the revolutionary Soviet leader in Central Asia. The 23 ...

Authorities in the second-largest city in Kyrgyzstan, Osh, have removed a towering statue of Vladimir Lenin thought to be the tallest of the revolutionary Soviet leader in Central Asia.

Authorities in Osh, Kyrgyzstan, have removed a 75-foot (23-meter) statue of Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin, once believed to be the tallest in Central Asia. Erected in 1975 during the Soviet era, the ...

Authorities in Osh, Kyrgyzstan, have removed a 75-foot (23-meter) statue of Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin, once believed to be the tallest in Central Asia. Erected in 1975 during the Soviet era, the ...

Authorities in the second-largest city in Kyrgyzstan, Osh, have removed a towering statue of Vladimir Lenin thought to be the tallest of the revolutionary Soviet leader in Central Asia.

Authorities in the second-largest city in Kyrgyzstan, Osh, have removed a towering statue of Vladimir Lenin thought to be the tallest of the revolutionary Soviet leader in Central Asia. The 23 ...

FILE - Protesters rally in front of a statue of Soviet Union founder Vladimir Lenin on a central square in the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh, Kyrgyzstan, on Thursday, Nov. 3, 2011.