After Lithuania regained its independence in 1990,
various Soviet statues were taken down and dumped in different places.
Malinauskas requested the Lithuanian authorities to grant him the possession of
the sculptures, so that he could build a privately-financed museum. This
Soviet-theme park was created in the wetlands of the Dzūkija National Park.
Many of its features are re-creations of Soviet Gulag prison camps: wooden
paths, guard towers, and barbed-wire fences.
Its establishment faced some fierce opposition,
and its existence is still
