Back to the USSR

Khreschatyk The city’s grandest thoroughfare of slightly intimidating Stalinist architecture of uninterrupted facades reminding a stone carved canyon wall. Many of the original buildings in the city were destroyed in WWII and this street was rebuilt in characteristic soviet style. Khreschatyk is closed to automotive traffic on weekends.

Lenin monument In the mid-2000s - eighty years after Lenin’s death, 87 since the Russian Revolution and about 14 since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the declaration of Ukrainian independence - the only Lenin statue that still remained in the city centre stood at one of the central squares, close to Khreschatyk. And believe it or not, it was named the world’s best monument at a 1939 international art exhibition in New York.

Metro After 11 years of construction, the first line of the Kyiv Metro opened in 1960. In typical soviet fashion, the Metro was designed to be a showcase of craftsmanship, style and technological innovation for the capital of one of the largest member states of the USSR. The older metro stations in the city centre were built in the underground palace style similar to Moscow’s metro. Most of the soviet style metro stations are located on the Red line.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Building Next to the St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Cathedral, which was destroyed by the Bolsheviks in the mid-1930s and was rebuilt in 2000, stands a grandiose architectural Soviet era masterpiece of the columned Foreign Ministry building. Just beneath the new blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flag there was a large hammer and sickle carved into the building facade during its days as Soviet Ukraine’s Communist Party headquarters. It was removed several years ago.

Motherland Monument (Batkivshchyna-Maty) An enormous stainless steel statue of a fierce female warrior, 62 m high, standing on a 40 m pedestal (about 102 m in total) and holding a sword of about 9 tonnes in her right hand and a shield in the left, dominating the heights above the Dnieper River. Giant, threatening and inescapable, the statue is known locally as ‘Brezhnev’s Mother’, as L. Brezhnev opened the monument in 1981.

The Friendship of Nations Arch (mid-2000s name) The steel rainbow of the Arch was erected in the early 1980s to commemorate the Pereiaslav Council of 1654 - as a monument meant to symbolize friendship and mutual respect of the two nations. There are great views from here over the Dnipro River and the vast steppes beyond it.

Ukraine House (former Museum of Lenin) The original Museum of Lenin was built in 1938 and was then located at Volodymyrs’ka str. In April 1982 the new building on European Square was finished. It was designed specifically to house the museum. In 1992 the museum was renamed as ‘Ukraine House’. All the old exhibits of the former Museum of Lenin are stored in one of the buildings in the Expocentre. Now the venue hosts temporary fairs and exhibitions including commercial trade fairs. The building features some of the most memorable Soviet stained glass in the whole of the former Soviet Union, and is one of the best examples in Kyiv of the futurist style of Soviet architecture.

What to do

Drive the soviet party boss’ car In the mid-2000s, to feel like a soviet party boss, Ukrainian Express travel offered Chaika or ZIM limousine rentals at tel. 536 12 37. In the past, Chaikas could only be purchased by Soviet party or government offices, and were not available to members of the public (who probably couldn’t afford one anyway). Chaikas were one step down from the more prestigious ZIM limousines, and were issued to the elite few top professionals, party officials, top scientists, academics, and other celebrities. For their massive size Chaikas were also purchased in some quantity by the KGB. Nikita Khrushchev, although entitled to a ZIM, was known to prefer Chaikas, and kept a Chaika M-13 at his summer dacha.

Drive the soviet tank After independence, as part of the former Soviet Union’s military heritage, Ukraine received complex military bases with the most advanced armament of that time. In the mid-2000s, enthusiasts of monstrous tanks and roaring high-powered military vehicles could take part as crew members in a test drive of old and modern machines, even the most exotic ones, at one of the Ukrainian Army’s proving grounds. Combat shooting on one of the former Soviet Army’s ranges was also on offer.

Celebrate the Independence Day (24th of August) Columns of Ukrainian tanks, armoured personnel carriers, and missile launchers have paraded through the centre of Kyiv to mark the 10th anniversary (as well as 11th, 12th and 13th) of independence from the Soviet Union. Someone said it all looked very much like the old May Day parades of Soviet times. Whether it repeated in later years - in the mid-2000s you could still check. And fireworks were definitely a must-see then.

Souvenirs & Gifts

Andriivskyi Descent Kyiv’s so-called “most charming street,” Andriivskyi Descent is a lure for tourists: escape from the hustle and bustle of the city that is rapidly changing, a repository of Kyivan history, and a teeming bazaar, where vendors sell former Soviet uniforms, ushankas (fur winter hats with ear flaps), military or traditional Russian/Ukrainian souvenirs like Matrioshka dolls, gypsum Lenin busts, creepy Wehrmacht medals left from World War II and banners proclaiming communism’s glory - all peacefully coexisting until a tourist stops to inspect the wares more closely.

L-Art gallery We can definitely say that the gallery has become a center of collecting Socialist Realism works. Here you can find hundreds of the best paintings from the Soviet period that represent all the genres and regions of Ukraine. The main distinguishing feature of this art trend is that it was patronized by the Soviet state, and the works of the Socialist Realism period were made to the state’s order. The task of the art of those times was to create an ideal image of the future and to encourage people to work harder and be socially active.

Where to eat

USSR In the mid-2000s an outdoor restaurant operated here: the entrance sign with fish, sausage and a beer bottle in the shape of a hammer and sickle summed up the concept. Pictures on the walls depicted some of the most famous moments in the history of the Soviet Union, while TV screens showed classic films from the era. Guests could sample cuisine from all 15 former Soviet republics, and at the end of the meal receive their bill on a ‘piece of happiness’ - an old Soviet-era cheque book. Then-current landmarks: Sichnevoho Povstannia 42/1, tel. 280 30 66; hours 11:00 - 01:00. The site www.r21.com.ua is unavailable as of this proofreading.