Ukraine has removed all 1,320 statues of Lenin

Monuments to the Bolshevik leader have been dismantled in every town, village and city controlled by the Kiev-based government

A crane manoeuvers a statue of a female worker away from the main Lenin monument in the newly named Liberty Square, formerly Lenin Square, in central Kiev. Ukraine led the other Soviet republics in a move to secede from the Union

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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.