Symon Petliura’s Grave Vandalized in Paris

The monument erected on the grave was damaged in several places, with a swastika carved on it, Radio Liberty’s Ukrainian Service reports. Symon Petliura who fled to Paris after the revolution was killed in May 1926 by Samuyil Shwartzbard whose motive was, as he put it, revenge for anti-Jewish pogroms in Ukraine. The former UNR leader was buried in the Montparnasse Cemetery in Paris. The Paris Ukrainian Library named for Petliura takes care of his grave. In the words of the library’s secretary Daria Melnykovych, “somebody carved a swastika on the monument with a knife or sharp rock.” The library turned to the police. The case is now in the courts, but no suspects have so far been found. The Embassy of Ukraine in Paris turned to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs with a note. However, so far there had been no official reaction from the French side. Incidentally, next year will mark the 125th anniversary of Petliura’s birth.