Notebook

In Brief

Fatigue for Lenin...

VOLGODONSK — Many Russian towns could soon lose their best known monuments — those ubiquitous Lenin statues are simply decaying from natural causes. One gigantic statue in a park in Volgodonsk, a small town near Rostov, keeled over onto a sidewalk. Luckily there were no casualties. Local authorities issued a statement saying the statue fell because of poor upkeep and metal fatigue.