The Story of Lenin from Poprad

Lew reading a story about his Lenin in a local paper called Slovenský východ

A giant bronze Lenin from Poprad, Slovakia travels to Seattle, Washington, USA.

Once upon a time there was this wonderful adventurer named Lew Carpenter. An entrepreneur from Seattle with a background in everything from saddlemaking to U.S. Army intelligence in Vietnam.

In 1993, exploring the fascinating post-revolutionary Slovakia in a mundane role of an English-language teacher in a small mountain town called Poprad, he heard that a massive bronze statue of the Russian communist idol, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, was going to be sold for the price of the metal to a local foundry.

That was when he, initially jokingly, suggested to buy it to prevent its destruction. He maintained it was still a work of art, and that it was an important memento for the future generations. To the surprise of everyone, including Lew, thanks to a swift international media campaign and a group of devoted local friends he managed to raise the necessary funds and actually ship the statue to Seattle, WA. It towers there to this day as one of Fremont's best known tourist attractions.

I accompanied him first as a reporter, then as an interpreter and eventually as a close friend. Our friendship changed me and my life forever. Sadly, Lewis Evan Carpenter died in a tragic accident on Friday, February 18, 1994.

Selected original reports:

The Seattle Times Tuesday, June 8, 1993
Obrovský Lenin putuje ako skladačka Thursday, May 6, 1993
Ako Voloďu adoptovali Tuesday, July 13, 1993
Na zkušenou Monday, October 4, 1993
Monumental Mysteries: A Communist Comes To America Friday, July 25, 2014

The statue was created by a Bulgarian artist living in Slovakia, Emil Venkov. Emil died Friday, June 9, 2017.

Tomáš Fülöpp
Poprad, Slovakia
1993, 1994

Seattle, USA

Children