Welcome Lenin

Welcome Lenin (Hoşgeldin Lenin)

20', 2016
Turkish | Ahmet Murat Öğüt, Aylin Kuryel, Begüm Özden Fırat, Emre Yeksan, Fırat Yücel

The Black Sea coast is always full of uninvited objects. Among the seaweed and mussels washed up on the shore, it is not surprising to find everyday objects written in completely different languages: A milk carton from Ukraine or a mosquito repellent thrown overboard from Russia. Although the Black Sea separates the people of its neighboring countries for miles, people who would never know each other are always aware of each other's existence through these objects. The Black Sea creates an organic bond between these people with different histories and cultures; it connects their histories. Welcome Lenin centers on the efforts of a small town like Akçakoca to establish its identity, the emotions, stories and network of relationships caused by an uninvited object.

Hoşgeldin Lenin is about a series of unusual events that took place in the summer of 1993 in Akçakoca, a town in the Düzce province of the Western Black Sea. In July 1993, Mahmut, a fisherman, goes out to sea with his family as he does every Sunday. When his daughter warns him, he realizes that something is floating in the sea. Although at first Mahmut is dazzled by the sun, he approaches this mass with curiosity and ties it to his boat with difficulty. What emerges from the sea is a wooden bust of Lenin, of unknown origin, heavy from swimming in the water for so long, and slightly larger than life-size. As a result of the tensions, conflicts and agreements between the different actors involved in the story, Mahmut the Fisherman delivers the Lenin statue to the Akçakoca Municipality. This statue, thought to be one of the statues that were removed, broken and discarded after the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1991, traveled in the Black Sea for nearly two years and was finally put under "protection" in the dusty warehouse in the municipality building.

The bust of Lenin, which attracted the attention of the press for a short time at the time, remained in the warehouse of Akçakoca Municipality for years. This situation changed on May 23-24, 2009 when members of the Tourism Writers and Journalists Association (TUYED) came to Akçakoca at the invitation of the Akçakoca District Governorship and Municipality. After the President of TUYED said that he believed that "Lenin tours" to the district could start with the placement of the bust in a public place, the bust of Lenin was back on the agenda. During this period, issues such as whether the bust could be erected in the city center, the political consequences of this, and the possibility of its exhibition in a city museum to be established were hotly debated. For a period, these discussions even led Akçakoca to rank "first in the most searched provinces, districts and regions" on tourism websites.

The documentary focuses on the discovery of the statue and the events that followed. The main axis is the statue itself, not the people, as in most documentaries. One of the main characters, Mahmut the fisherman, finds the statue and hands it over to the municipality, but never sees it again. But it is clear that Lenin's unexpected appearance plays an important role in Mahmut's life. Mahmut remembers the moment he found the statue as if it were yesterday and still wants to get it back today. Perhaps by erecting the statue in his house, or perhaps in the tea garden he plans to reopen in front of his house, he thinks that he will not only reclaim something that he has always thought was his, but also contribute to the district and his own budget. The structure of the documentary not only tells the story through the eyes of Mahmut the Fisherman, but also follows the stories of the various organizations and characters who have been involved throughout this period, both arguing with each other and acting together.

The documentary Welcome Lenin aims to shed light on this event, which is so astonishing and extraordinary that it could be the subject of a fictional movie, and to shed light on both the traces it left in the past and its repercussions that continue to be experienced today. The statue of Lenin provokes unexpected encounters, emotions and debates on both personal and institutional levels, sometimes sitting at the center of dreams of tourism-based development, sometimes causing fear and hatred, but always gathering dust in the municipal warehouse.