History Main / ToppledStatue

* During UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, when UsefulNotes/{{France}} was occupied and under the [[TheQuisling government of Vichy]], there were requisitions of metal (mostly to satisfy the German demands for their war effort). [[https://paris1900.lartnouveau.com/paris00/statues_de_rues1/statues_rues8.htm Many metal statues]], especially in Paris, were scrapped to that end. Those that were immediately targeted were folks whose writings etc wouldn't align well with Vichy's ideology, including the likes of Creator/{{Voltaire}} and Émile Zola.

* The overthrow of a UsefulNotes/SaddamHussein statue in UsefulNotes/{{Iraq}} was seen as symbolic of his utter defeat.
* During UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution, the UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity statue of George III on horseback was toppled after the Declaration of Independence. The statue was later melted down to make bullets.
* The British raised a statue of Lord Nelson in downtown UsefulNotes/{{Dublin}} (similar, but smaller than, a statue of Lord Nelson in London). Many took it as a symbol of the British dominion over UsefulNotes/{{Ireland}}. The IRA blew it up in 1966, and few people complained. Then they wrote [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__3v0eKHB_s several funny songs about it]].

* In UsefulNotes/{{Taiwan}}, many of the prolific statues of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek (though notably, not the massive one in his memorial) have been torn down by the public, in the two decades since the end of the half-century of dictatorship.

* When a statue of UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher was erected in London, one protester proceeded to knock its head clean off. With a cricket bat.
* On the unveiling of a topiary likeness of Music/TheBeatles in Liverpool, Music/RingoStarr was asked what he missed about living in the city and replied "Nothing, really." Scousers responded to this by cutting his head off the hedge.

* The opening credits of ''Film/GoldenEye'' allude to the EndOfAnAge, the end of both the UsefulNotes/ColdWar and the [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Soviet Union]] that is, with collapsing statues of UsefulNotes/VladimirLenin and {{Sexy Silhouette}}s smashing a hammer & sickle monument and other Soviet statues.

** Several Ukrainian memorials to the Soviet-Hero Cities (which resisted the Germans during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII) were purged from the names, statues, and symbols of Russian and UsefulNotes/{{Belarus}}ian cities (since Alexander Lukashenko's Belarus is a passive ally/pawn of UsefulNotes/VladimirPutin and served as launchpad for the failed Russian assault on Kyiv in February and March 2022 and for missile attacks upon Ukraine).

** Several remaining Soviet-era memorials were destroyed in UsefulNotes/{{Poland}} and the Baltic states (in UsefulNotes/{{Lithuania}} especially) following the Russian aggression.

** In Kyiv again, a poll was organized in early 2023 to replace the Soviet emblems on the shield of the Motherland statue by the Ukrainian Truzyb. 85% answered "yes", and plans to proceed to this replacement are underway.

** In Kyiv again, a poll was organized in early 2023 to replace the Soviet emblems on the shield of the Motherland statue by the Ukrainian Truzyb. 85% answered "yes".

* The invasion of UsefulNotes/{{Ukraine}} by UsefulNotes/{{Russia}} in 2022 caused several instances of this upon some remaining Soviet era and Russian monuments:

** In Kyiv, the People's Friendship Arch was dismantled in April 2022. The bronze statue depicting a Russian worker and a Ukrainian worker holding up the Soviet Order of Friendship of Peoples was removed (the Russian one was beheaded while they were at it).
** Several remaining Soviet-era memorials were destroyed in UsefulNotes/{{Poland}} and the Baltic states (in UsefulNotes/{{Lithuania}} especially).

** Several Ukrainian memorials to the Soviet-Hero Cities (which resisted the Germans during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII) were purged from the names, statues, and symbols of Russian and UsefulNotes/{{Belarus}}ian cities (since Alexander Lukashenko's Belarus is a passive ally/pawn of UsefulNotes/VladimirPutin and served as launchpad for the failed Russian assault on Kyiv in February and March 2022).
** In Kyiv, the People's Friendship Arch was dismantled in April 2022. The bronze statue depicting a Russian worker and a Ukrainian worker holding up the Soviet Order of Friendship of Peoples was removed (the Russian one was beheaded).

Welcome to {{Egopolis}}, seat of power of TheEmpire! No doubt you're in awe of the mighty statue of TheEmperor dominating the town square. This statue was built as a sign of his highness's power and control over the lands and the people of his Empire, which is why when TheHero and his friends invade the town and destroy it, you'll be treated to a dramatic shot of it collapsing.

* In the "Day of Chaos" storyline in ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'', the colossal Statue of Judgement (which symbolically dwarfs the Statue of Liberty in the series) is toppled by the forces attacking Mega-City One. It's not just symbolic in this case--the statue was the headquarters of the Judges' surveillance and electronic tracking activities and its destruction creates many blind spots in the city.

** In Kyiv, the People's Friendship Arch was dismantled in April 2022. The bronze statue depicting a Russian worker and a Ukrainian worker holding up the Soviet Order of Friendship of Peoples was removed (the Russian one was beheaded). The arch will remain and is planned to be renamed and illuminated with the colors of the Ukrainian flag.
** In Odessa, the statues of [[UsefulNotes/CatherineTheGreat Catherine II of Russia]] and Alexander Suvorov will be removed.

* In ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'', after starting the rebellion, one of the first things you witness is Breen's propaganda screen being toppled by the resistance.

* ''Anime/ElHazardTheMagnificentWorld'': After infiltrating the Buggrom citadel, and rescuing Fatora, Makoto and the others make their escape. During which, he asks [[DarkskinnedRedhead Shayla]] [[PlayingWithFire Shayla]] to help [[spoiler: Ifurita, who'd been freed from Jinnai's control and using her remaining energy to cover their escape.]] One of Shayla's blasts triggers a chain reaction of explosions throughout the hive which ultimately causes Jinnai's statue to crumble as it topples over.

* ''VideoGame/{{Mercenaries}}'' has this as an entire side quest.

* In the first mission of ''VideoGame/XCOM2'', Operation GateCrasher, your team destroys a statue of an alien elder to show them that the resistance means business.

** Several Ukrainian memorials to the Soviet-Hero Cities (which resisted the Germans during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII) were purged from the names, statues and symbols of Russian and UsefulNotes/{{Belarus}}ian cities (since Alexander Lukashenko's Belarus is a passive ally/pawn of UsefulNotes/VladimirPutin and served as launchpad for the failed Russian assault on Kyiv in February and March 2022).

** Several remaining Soviet era memorials were destroyed in UsefulNotes/{{Poland}} and the Baltic states (in UsefulNotes/{{Lithuania}} especially).

* Following the end of the [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Soviet Union]], many statues of Creator/KarlMarx, UsefulNotes/VladimirLenin, UsefulNotes/JosefStalin (some remaining ones after the Destalinization of TheFifties after his death at least) and other communist or Soviet figures were removed in Russia, the other former Soviet republics and the countries of UsefulNotes/{{Central|Europe}} and Eastern Europe that used to be East of the UsefulNotes/IronCurtain.

** Several Ukrainian memorials to the Soviet-Hero Cities (which resisted the Germans during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII) were purged from the names, statues and symbols of Russian and UsefulNotes/{{Belarus}}ian cities (since Alexander Lukashenko's Belarus is a passive ally/pawn of UsefulNotes/VladimirPutin and served as launchpad for the failed Russian assault on Kyiv).

** Several remaining Soviet era memorials were destroyed in UsefulNotes/{{Poland}}.

** In Odessa, the statues of UsefulNotes/CatherineTheGreat and Alexander Suvorov will be removed.

* Following the end of [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn USSR]], many statues of Creator/KarlMarx, UsefulNotes/VladimirLenin, UsefulNotes/JosefStalin (some remaining ones after the Destalinization of TheFifties after his death at least) and other communist or Soviet figures were removed in Russia, the other former Soviet republics and the countries of UsefulNotes/{{Central|Europe}} and Eastern Europe that used to be East of the UsefulNotes/IronCurtain.

* The British raised a statue of Lord Nelson in downtown UsefulNotes/{{Dublin}} (similar, but smaller than, a statue of Lord Nelson in London). Many took it as a symbol of the British dominion over UsefulNotes/{{Ireland}}. The IRA blew it up in 1966. Then they wrote [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__3v0eKHB_s several funny songs about it]].
* Statues of Communist leaders were toppled after the fall of the Soviet Union.

* The statue of UsefulNotes/JosefStalin in Budapest, built as a "gift" to him by UsefulNotes/{{Hungary}} for his seventieth birthday in 1949, was torn down in the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. A recreation of his shoes was built in 2006 to commemorate its destruction.

** Several Ukrainian memorials to the Soviet-Hero Cities (which resisted the Germans during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII) were purged from the names, statues and symbols of Russian and UsefulNotes/{{Belarus}}ian cities.

* Following the end of [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn USSR]], many statues of Creator/KarlMarx, UsefulNotes/VladimirLenin, UsefulNotes/JosefStalin (some remaining ones at least) and other communist or Soviet figures were removed in Russia, the other former Soviet republics and the countries of UsefulNotes/{{Central|Europe}} and Eastern Europe that used to be East of the UsefulNotes/IronCurtain.

* The invasion of UsefulNotes/{{Ukraine}} by UsefulNotes/{{Russia}} in 2022 caused several instances of this upon some remaining Soviet era monuments:
** Several memorials to the Soviet-Hero Cities (which resisted the Germans during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII) were purged from the names, statues and symbols of Russian and UsefulNotes/{{Belarus}}ian cities.

* ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'': The remastered edition added scenes with people celebrating the Emperor's death, which includes a crowd on Coruscant toppling his statue in a public square.

* A side-quest in ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}'' has you sneak into Hyperion's model city of Opportunity and use a hacked Constructor to destroy four big statues of the game's BigBad, egotistical Hyperion CEO Handsome Jack. In-universe, however, this doesn't necessarily detract from Jack's power and it simply just pisses him off, swearing to build statues of him [[GroinAttack kicking you in the junk]] to replace those you've toppled.