In the Kirovograd region, in the village of Kostyantynivka, there is a monument to Ivan Michurin, a Soviet plant breeder, in whose honor the city was even named.
There are at least three monuments to Michurin in Ukraine: one in the village of Kostyantynivka in the Kirovohrad region, another in a village in the Poltava region, and a third in Melitopol. All three are identical, depicting Michurin seated on a rectangular pedestal. The monuments are made of concrete and painted with a uniform coat of paint.
Monument to Michurin in Kostyantynivka
It is not known exactly when Michurin was installed in Kostiantynivka. It is located at the entrance to a large horticultural area and is clearly visible from the road to those traveling to Kropyvnytskyi and back.
In July 2025, the monument was destroyed by unknown persons. As of August 1, 2025, only the pedestal and the figure with a shattered head remained from Michurin in the Kirovograd region. Its remains lie at the foot of the broken monument.
I think it will remain broken, and perhaps soon they will demolish what remains of the monument. Or they will remove the debris. In any case, I don’t think they will restore it.
A similar action was previously taken with the Michurin monument in the Poltava region, in the village of Machekhi. There, it was also demolished by unknown individuals, without waiting for a decision from the authorities.
Michurin vs. Simirenko
On the one hand, it may seem that Michurin is a neutral figure in Ukrainian Soviet history, and his memory should not be forgotten, and monuments should remain untouched.
However, he is a controversial figure for modern Ukraine. Ivan Michurin actively supported Stalin’s policies, for which he was favored by the authorities. He was a botanist from a provincial town who was unknown until a certain point, but was then glorified by propaganda.
On the one hand, it may seem that Michurin is a neutral figure in Ukrainian Soviet history, and his memory should not be forgotten, and monuments to him should remain untouched.
However, he is a controversial figure for modern Ukraine. Ivan Michurin actively supported Stalin’s policies, which earned him the favor of the authorities. He was a relatively unknown botanist from a provincial town who was glorified by propaganda.
At some point, Michurin came into conflict with the renowned scientist Vladimir Simirenko. Simirenko’s family had been involved in the cultivation and development of fruit plants for many years and had produced many scientific works that were accepted as postulates throughout the Soviet Union.
In 1931, at a high-level meeting, Simirenko began to criticize Michurin’s methods, which were more designed to please politicians than to serve science. This led to the persecution of the Ukrainian scientist. As a result, Simirenko was accused of nationalism and arrested in 1932. Rumor has it that Michurin’s intervention played a role in this.
Several arrests of Symyrenko followed, several prison terms, and finally, in 1937, he was shot. Here, too, the “Michurinists” contributed their efforts. The fate of scientists who worked according to Vladimir Levkovich’s methods was also unenviable.