HOW TO EXPLORE COMMUNISM IN KYIV

2018-12-04 13:33:07

For decades before Ukraine declared its independence in 1991, it formed part of the Soviet Union. Kyiv was the third most important Soviet city after Moscow and Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). That is why walking around the capital of Ukraine you can notice a lot of elements of that era. From year to year due to decommunization, many symbols of the Soviet Modernism architecture are dismantled or reconstructed. But still, there is a list of most popular buildings or constructions in Kyiv which remind about the communist past of the country.

 

The Institute of Information

 

At the beginning of 1960’s architect Florian Yuriev has created a project of the color- musical theater which was supposed to be a platform for the development of a new artistic discipline called "music of color". He designed a room with an ideal system of sound and light transmission. These practical needs dictated its external form which reminds UFO.
But in the late 1970’s instead of the color- musical theater, this building became the cinematic hall of the Institute of Scientific and Technical Information. It was built in a completely different context than Yuriev wanted.
The Institute of Information is located nearly right beside Ocean Plaza Mall. You can be reached there by taking the metro to “Lybidska” station.

 

Maidan Nezalezhnosti

 

Maidan Nezalezhnosti, which literally means Independence Square, is very much the heart of the city and the home to demonstrations. Maidan is actually much older than Soviet past, but a lot of standing constructions there were built by the Soviets. One of such buildings that rise above the square is “Hotel Ukraine”. It was built as “Hotel Moscow” in 1961 by the communists.
Near the square, the grandest boulevard of downtown Kyiv, Khreshchatyk Street, is also lined by buildings of communist-era vintage. The easiest way to reach the location is to take the metro and get off at the metro station “Khreshchatyk” or “Maidan Nezalezhnosti”.

 

Memorial Park

 

The gloomy and unusual building of the Kiev crematorium stands on a hill in the famous Baikiv cemetery, the oldest and most prestigious in the country. You can get here by bus or by walk from the metro station “Palats Ukraina”
In the second half of 1960’s, local authorities initiated the creation of a Kyiv crematorium. The co-authors of the complex of the Kyiv crematorium Ada Rybachuk and Volodymyr Melnychenko developed the idea of the Park of Remembrance with the author’s resolution of the landscape, the monumental Memory Wall, and the unique Farewell Hall. The central element of this park has to become a monumental Memory Wall. This wall with numerous author’s reliefs also had to perform a therapeutic function for the participants in the burial process.
Creation of Memory Wall lasted more than 10 years. And when its reliefs were almost completed, at the beginning of 1982, the party elite have ordered the concrete Wall.

 

Mother Homeland

 

Mother Homeland is a colossal 62m-tall World War II monument in Kyiv inside of which there is actually a museum of the war. It is a bit of walk to get there, but it worth it. There are also spectacular views of the river Dnipro from here.
Mother Homeland and the World War II monuments and museum are some of the last places in Kyiv with Soviet symbols on them. During the decommunization, it was decided to keep anything related to World War II.

 

Hotel Salut

 

According to the original idea, the hotel Salut should have been a high-rise, designed with the use of innovative construction. In the beginning, the project received support from the party’s top. But everything has changed after the team’s refusal to add the party curator to the list of authors of the project. As a result, the original project had to cut off more than half – despite the fact that the foundation had already been designed for a significantly higher construction. So, due to the small number of rooms and the impossibility of their expansion, the hotel was initially not effective.
You can check out Hotel Salut by heading to metro station “Arsenalna”.

 

The Friendship of Nations Arch

 

Walking from the metro station “Maidan Nezalezhnosti” to the Volodymyr Uzviz you will arrive at the huge structure of the Friendship of Nations Arch. The ensemble consists of an arch in the form of a three-layer rainbow, a bronze sculpture of two workers and a granite composition, created on the grounds of Pereyaslav Council. The arch was built in 1982 on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the existence of the USSR. It symbolized the unity and friendship of the countries of the Soviet Union.
Currently, there are debates about dismantling the arch and monuments as a part of decommunization. It will eventually be replaced by a memorial to soldiers who fought and are still fighting in the Russia-Ukraine War.

 

Ukrainian House

 

The building is located on the European Square next to Maidan Nezalezhnosti and connected with it by Khreshchatyk Street. The house was originally intended to accommodate the Kyiv branch of the Central Museum of Lenin. The construction of the museum of the leader of the proletariat was conducted from 1978 to 1982. The construction was managed by Vadim Hopkalo.
Since 1993 the Ukrainian House has been used as an exhibition and presentation complex with many functions. Nowadays it accepts summits, symposiums, congresses, conferences, presentations, international exhibitions, business forums, artistic events, concerts, film shows, corporate parties, etc.

 

The Kyiv Circus

 

The Circus of Kyiv was opened on November 5, 1960, on the Victory Square. Created by the architect V. Zhukov, the building is the largest dome building in Kyiv. Now it is rightfully considered the main circus of Ukraine and is the largest in the country. In its arena, Ukrainian and world stars of circus art perform. The hall is designed for 2100 people. The period of work of the circus is 9 month and the rest of the time the circus troupe is on tour.
The nearest metro station is “Universytet” from which you have to walk to Victory Square.

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