From Chișinău

Jack's had a bit of time off this afternoon, from his work with refugee support groups in the Moldovan capital.  He's found a set of statues that were removed from its main square after independence in 1991.  So this blip image is an unashamed steal from his WhatsApp message. Lenin was there in the photos too but I've picked Marx, who appears to have a marginally less stern demeanour.  I don't think he's quite far gone enough to qualify for Derelict Sunday, other than in a metaphorical sense.

I realise that I had no idea what Moldova's capital was called until Jack and I talked over the details of his journey.  Nor did I know that Moldova is the second poorest country in Europe by GDP per capita.  Moldova has the lowest Human Development Index in the continent, ranking 90th in the world. This tiny, impoverished country has now seen some 300,000 refugees arrive from Ukraine, over 100,000 of whom are still there.  For now they have an elected pro-European government, but their history is immensely volatile: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moldova