If you come across postcards of Bishkek dating from before independence, you will soon notice that there is a detail missing from Ala-Too Square. The statue of Lenin, arm pointing toward the future in a typically Soviet pose, has been taken down and placed behind the National Historical Museum, right next to the parliament and the amusement park that adjoins it. It is one of two statues of Lenin still standing in the country (the second is in Osh) and one of the largest in the world.