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Russian Man Sentenced for Decapitating Lenin Monument

A Siberian man has been sentenced to one year of restricted freedom for lobbing off the head of a monument to Bolshevik revolutionary Vladimir Lenin, a Tomsk region court said in a statement Tuesday.

According to the court, while intoxicated and overcome by a sense of political angst, the man ambled over to the monument in May and took a sledgehammer to the first Soviet leader.

The man was found guilty of having desecrated a structure on the basis of political or ideological hostility.

The defendant was prohibited from moving to a new place of residence and traveling beyond Tomsk without special permission. He will also be required to report to the local authorities on a monthly basis.

All that is left of the monument are its legs after an ill-fated selfie robbed the headless Lenin of his torso, news agency AFP reported Monday.

The man climbed the pedestal upon which the monument was standing and held the fallen leader's torso for balance, but the torso toppled, taking the man with it, AFP reported, adding that he was hospitalized due to injuries sustained in the incident.


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