The effigy was made in 1934 in Leningrad and was acquired in 1992 by a Ukrainian American businessman following an auction in Berlin.
"The city of New York is proud and pleased to honor the legendary leader of the 1917 October Revolution and founder of the first workers' state in the world, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin", reads a statement by the mayor's office, adding that "despite the fierce reaction by anti-communist and right-wing organizations and groups, the statue will be unveiled in a ceremony on May 1, 2021".