Lenin Statue Blown up in Russian Suburb

Police say that vandals have blown up a statue of Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin in a St. Petersburg suburb.

The city police said the explosion late on Monday hurt no one, but left a big crack in the monument and shattered windows in a nearby apartment building.

The famous Lenin statue in St. Petersburg was blown up last year, and another monument to Lenin was pulled down and broken up by vandals in Pushkin in 2004.

The Communist Party condemned the latest incident in a statement issued on Tuesday, and criticized the authorities for failing to track down the perpetrators of the attacks.

Nearly 20 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Lenin's statues are still ubiquitous in Russia, with almost every village, town and city displaying one in a prominent location.