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Ukraine has removed all 1,320 statues of the communist revolutionary Lenin following a government drive to rid the country of Soviet-era symbols.

Monuments to the Bolshevik leader have been dismantled in every town, village and city controlled by the Kiev-based government that brought down pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych three years ago, according to officials.

The anti-Soviet initiative, which also orders the renaming of streets and cities, was made law by President Petro Poroshenko in May 2015, according to The Times.

Many places have been named after Ukranian heroes, however a Lenin Street in Zakarpattia, a western region, was renamed Lennon Street in a tribute to the Beatles.

Volodymyr Viatrovych, director of the Institute of National Remembrance, confirmed that every Lenin statue had been removed along with 1,069 other Soviet monuments.

Despite the policy, Communist relics still remain in the eastern parts of Ukraine controlled by Kremlin-backed forces.

According to United Nations figures more than 10,000 have died in Ukraine after Russia took control of Crimea in 2014.

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Ukraine has removed all 1,320 statues of Lenin | The Independent - The Independent

The new U.S. special envoy for efforts to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine, Kurt Volker, met with a Kremlin aide on August 21 in the Belarusian capital, Minsk.

The Belarusian Foreign Ministry said on Twitter that Volker and Vladislav Surkov, an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin's point man for the conflict in eastern Ukraine, were meeting behind closed doors.

The U.S. State Department announced on August 18 that Volker and the Russian representative would discuss "Russian-Ukrainian relations."

Volker's talks with Surkov kick off three days of U.S. diplomacy on the war between Russia-backed separatists and government forces in eastern Ukraine, which has killed more than 10,000 people since April 2014.

From Minsk, Volker will head to the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, to meet with senior government officials on August 22 to discuss "the way forward in Ukraine," the State Department said.

On August 23, Volker will join U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis in meetings with senior Ukrainian government officials to discuss "the next steps in diplomatic negotiations to restore Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," the department said.

After Moscow-friendly Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was pushed from power in February 2014 by massive pro-European protests, Russia seized control of Ukraine's Crimea region and fomented separatism in eastern and southern Ukraine.

Russia-backed separatists seized parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces, which border Russia, and the war has persisted despite a pact known as Minsk II, a February 2015 agreement on a cease-fire and steps to resolve the conflict.

Sanctions imposed by the United States, the European Union have not prompted Russia to abandon its support for the separatists or fulfill its commitments under the Minsk agreements.

Tillerson named Volker, a former U.S. ambassador to NATO, as the U.S. special representative for Ukraine negotiations in July.

In an interview with Current Time TV in July, Volker said that ending the fighting will require agreement by all sides on two major principles -- the "territorial integrity of Ukraine, security of all the people" -- and a change in Russia's approach. Current Time TV is the Russian-language network, run by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA.

He said that the United States is considering sending Kyiv weapons to help government forces defend themselves against Russia-backed separatists. To date, the United States has provided only nonlethal military aid.

Relations between Moscow and Washington have been driven to a post-Cold War low by disagreements over issues including Russia's aggression in Ukraine, its role in the war in Syria, and its alleged interference in the U.S. presidential election in 2016.

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US Envoy On Ukraine Conflict To Meet With Russian Counterpart In Minsk - RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty

The 26th annual Ukrainian Folk Festival, an outdoor summer concert celebrating Ukraine's independence, is being staged Aug. 27 from noon to 8 p.m. in Horsham, Pennsylvania.

The full essence of Ukrainian folk art, song, music and dance can be experienced from the rich color and deep symbolism of the pysanka (Ukrainian Easter egg) to the rhythm and power of hopak, an ethnic dance, to the Kolomiyka polka.

A sampling of events includes an outdoor summer stage concert and show from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. and a public social dance from 4:30 to 8.

Also featured will be homemade Ukrainian foods and baked goods, a barbecue pit, standard picnic fare, a kids' fun area, vendors grove, arts and crafts displays and bazaar, refreshments, and live re-enactments.

Among the dancers, musicians, singers, ensembles and re-enactors that will perform include the Voloshky Ukrainian Dance Ensemble, Vox Ethnika Orchestra, violinist Innesa Tymochko Dekajlo, singer-songwriter Iryna Lonchyna, Iskra Ukrainian Dance Ensemble, Living in Song Chamber Choir, and Banner of Jasna Gora.

The artistic unity at the event is meant to underscore the theme United Ukraine: United with US, honoring the United States' support of Ukraines commitment to a self-determined democratic future, and the creation of permanent bonds of friendship between the two countries. This years festival honors these special relationships and developments.

The festival will be held at the Ukrainian American Sport Center at Lower State and County Line roads in Horsham.

Admission is $15; students are $10 and children under age 15 are free. Parking is free.

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26th annual folk festival honors the culture of Ukraine - The Intelligencer

Wall Street Journal (subscription)

Kremlin Envoy Played Central Role in Eastern Ukraine Wall Street Journal (subscription) MOSCOWWhen American envoy Kurt Volker meets his Russian counterpart Monday to try to restore peace in eastern Ukraine, he will be sitting across the table from no ordinary diplomat. Vladislav Surkov, Moscow's point person, is a powerful Kremlin ...

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Kremlin Envoy Played Central Role in Eastern Ukraine - Wall Street Journal (subscription)

When President Obamas record-breaking Tweet came out I did what most people did: liked, retweeted and took some sadistic pleasure in the knowledge that the record-breaking news was going to drive Trump up the wall.

I have since giving it some more thought, and in truth and with all due respect to President Obama and Nelson Mandela, is not that simple, and I believe the response takes more than 140 characters.

In all fairness, people are taught a lot of things, and as any parent or teacher will tell you, they choose to learn some and not others.

The seventeen-year-old kid in Barcelona is a good example, he was born in the most tolerant Muslim country in the world, went to the University of Barcelona, one of the most, liberal and tolerant cities in the world, and whoever thought him to hate, assuming someone did, was prioritized by him.

There is nature, theres nurture, but theres also free will and all it takes is a little bit of imagination and some courage to exercise it. Without free will, without exercising it to select the input we allow in our brains, we are perennial victims, easy prey to hateful influences eager to give us someone to blame for our failures.

This is patently true in white supremacists, you really have to choose to believe nonsense, to feel like a victim when youre a white male in America, yes, youre not born a racist, that might be true, but youre born a coward because you choose to believe someone is to blame for all your failures at every turn. That is a choice. Otherwise we have to believe there were just leaves floating in the wind with no control of our own choosing, pliable victims of bad influences. I dont believe thats true.

And I dont believe that ignorance is to blame, even though it is the usual liberal explanation of evil, the Germans were hardly an ignorant nation and the neo-nazis marching in the United States today went to the same school as their neighbors.

I believe that in the end it comes down to courage, the courage of conceptual thinking, the courage to take responsibility for your own failures, the courage not to be a victim or use others as you excuse, the courage of intellectual honesty as you absorb the influence around you. Racists are not ignorant or misinformed, they are cowards.

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My Response To President Obama's Record-Breaking Tweet - HuffPost