A statue of Russian President Vladimir Putin disappeared shortly before it was set to be unveiled in a ceremony in Russia’s Kurgan region, Newsweek reported.
The statue, nearly 12 feet tall and the centerpiece of a larger monument, stood behind a podium in front of large map of Russia and Crimea. Local authorities had planned to unveil the statue, then it vanished.
"It disappeared at one point. He was there and then he wasn’t… they brought him and then they took him away two days ago," a local told the BBC’s Russian Service, Newsweek reported.
The monument was dedicated to "service to the fatherland," the pedestal’s inscription read and was the brainchild of Alexander Ilyatkov, a lawmaker from Putin’s United Russia Party, the report said.
"Those that saw it were in awe," Ilyatkov said.
The official suggested that authorities moved the statue, but did not say why or where it was moved. It is in a "secluded place," said the official, the BBC Russian Service reported, Newsweek said.
Ilyatkov suggested that the empty podium in front of the map where Putin’s statue was could be an interactive exhibition for locals. Part of the reason for moving the statue was so that "anyone can come and feel part of this triumphant and decisive moment," Ilyatkov said.
The lawmaker admitted that Putin might not have liked the monument. "The president is a modest person… he does not work for glory," said Ilyatkov, Newsweek reported.
A Kremlin official speaking to Russian news agency Znak that the lawmaker was not supposed to include Putin in the display. "He was urged to cancel the installation of the monument… he promised that there would be no figure of Putin himself and that only the map of Russia and the podium would remain," the official said.
Putin said Friday that he would not serve more than two presidential terms in a row as the Russian constitution states. His current term, which is his second in a row, ends in 2024.
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