Ukraine has removed all 1,320 statues of Lenin

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.

Ukraine marks the 30th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster

12 show all Ukraine marks the 30th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster

1/12 A woman stands near the grave of her brother, a "liquidator" or an emergency worker who fought the blaze at the Chernobyl nuclear reactor, during a commemoration ceremony on the 30th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster at the Mitino cemetery in Moscow Reuters

2/12 Belarussian soldiers of an honor guard carry wreaths during a memorial service for the victims of the Chernobyl disaster in Minsk EPA

3/12 A woman holds a portrait of her relative, a victim of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, as she visits the memorial during a commemoration ceremony in Kiev Reuters

4/12 Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko lays flowers during a commemoration ceremony at a monument to "liquidators", emergency workers who fought the blaze at the Chernobyl nuclear reactor, near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant Reuters

5/12 A woman puts flowers to a monument to Chernobyl liquidators at Mitino Cemetery in Moscow AP

6/12 Nataliya Khodemchyuk, 64, from Ukraine, a widow of Chernobyl liquidator Valery Khodemchyuk, sits at his grave at the Mitino Cemetery in Moscow AP

7/12 A woman holds portrait of her relative, a victim of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, as she visits the memorial during a commemoration ceremony in Kiev Reuters

8/12 Ukrainians light candles and lay flowers at the memorial for 'liquidators' who died during cleaning up works after the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster, during a ceremony in Slavutich city EPA

9/12 A rescue worker which served during the Chernobyl nuclear disaster visits a memorial during a commemoration ceremony in Kiev Reuters

10/12 Women hold portraits of their lost husbands near a monument honoring people who were killed during cleanup efforts after the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster, during a memorial ceremony in Kiev EPA

11/12 A woman lays flowers at the Chernobyl victims' memorial in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev Getty Images

12/12 A woman holds a photograph of her husband who died following the clean-up operations for the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear explosion, at the Chernobyl's victim monument in Ukraine's capital Kiev AP

According to United Nations figures more than 10,000 have died in Ukraine after Russia took control of Crimea in 2014.