Monuments not to that: rulers who have not deserved glory

In different parts of the world, a curious tourist now and then stumbles upon statues of formidable husbands - foot and horse. Locals no longer notice these pathos monuments, considering them an integral part of the city landscape. Most often, the hero’s eyebrows are frightened, the piercing look is directed into the distance, the posture is proud, and in his hands he holds weapons or indicates one of them to a bright future. Morned in stone and bronze, these leaders are familiar to the townspeople from history textbooks, novels and films. Meanwhile, it was these people who once brought their glory to their countries and determined their position on a world map.

The book of the Finnish writer and researcher Ari Turunen reveals to us not heroic, but unsightly sides of powerful figures. The rulers, politicians, conquerors - the more people they killed, captured and subordinated their will, the more likely they were erected by monuments. The great heroes of their Fatherland in neighboring states were usually considered villains and criminals. Alexander Macedonian, Vladimir Lenin, Vasco da Gama, Ivan the Terrible, Martin Luther and other figures here are not heroes, but "bad guys", whom one feature unites: arguing with them was damn dangerous