Bomb blows backside off Lenin statue

One of Russia's most famous statues of Vladimir Lenin has been bombed, leaving the Bolshevik revolutionary with a gaping hole in his rear.

The bronze statue, in the city of St Petersburg, was badly damaged before dawn on Wednesday, when the blast blew a hole in Lenin's coat.



No-one was hurt in the attack, the motive for which was unknown.

The statue, outside the Finland Station, marks the Bolshevik leader's return from exile in April 1917.



"Today at 0430 [0030 GMT] there was an explosion at the Lenin monument at the Finland Station in the city centre," a spokesman for the Saint Petersburg branch of the Russian emergency situations ministry said.

"As a result of the explosion a crater of 80-100cm [31-39in] appeared on the monument," he added.