"Shocking scene in Poltava: a cloth was placed on the head of the philosopher's monument (photo)."

In Poltava, a monument to the renowned wandering Ukrainian philosopher Hryhorii Skovoroda has been erected in the park near the Small Academy of Arts. However, a rag has been hung over the statue's head.

Local Telegram channels joke that they covered his eyes "so he wouldn’t see the roads in the city."

"The Skovoroda monument was installed on Sobornosti. They closed his eyes so he wouldn't see the roads in the city?" — reads the message.

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Residents have commented on this news. Not everyone is pleased with the monument. People are outraged about how the funds were spent.

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What’s Wrong with the Monument

Ukrainian historian and employee of the National Museum of Folk Architecture and Life of Ukraine in Pyrohiv, Vadym Nazarenko, criticized this monument. On his Facebook page, he wrote that bare feet are sticking out from under the statue's covering, even though Hryhorii Skovoroda never walked barefoot.

"This is a blatant repetition of Soviet stereotypes about the barefoot philosopher," — Nazarenko wrote. He also published a still frame from a video report about the installation of the monument, showing the bare feet peeking out from under the covering.

Hryhorii Skovoroda was born on November 22 (December 3 in the new style) 1722 in the village of Chornukhy (then part of the Kyiv Governorate of the Russian Empire, now in Poltava Oblast of Ukraine), and he died on October 29 (November 9 in the new style) 1794 in the village of Ivanivka (then part of the Kharkov estate of the Russian Empire, now in Kharkiv Oblast of Ukraine). He lived for 71 years.

Earlier, "Telegraph" reported that in Kharkiv, quadrobers and hobihorsers will hold a battle.