Kyiv
Kyiv (usually transliterated ‘Kiev’ in Engiish) is Ukraine’s capital and largest city. It is also the historical center of eastern Slavdom, having been settled by Vikings from Scandinavia long before Moscow became a major metropolis. Muscovy began to rise and expand only after the Mongol Invasion of the 13th century subjugated the Kyivan principalities.
The Kyiv metropolitan area today has a population of anywhere between 3.5 and 6 million, depending on whom you ask. It is impossible to do justice to such a large and diverse city in an album of 80 photos. The city has grown rapidly in the post-Soviet era, as more people from outlying provinces have moved to the capital in search of a better life. It is a naturally leafy, with several parks, an extensive public transportation system and a lot of heavy industry. The Dnipro River divides Kyiv into west (old) and east (modern). This album is mostly confined to the older, western part of the city.
These are just a few images conveying some of my own lasting impressions of Kyiv. Click here for full album: Flickr
Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv
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Statue of Ukrainian composer and pianist Mykola Lysenko (1842-1912) outside the Taras Shevchenko Ukrainian National House on Volodymyrska Street
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An entranceway to St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Cathedral
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Monument to St. Olga: Saint Olga (c. 890-969) was a ruler of Kievan Rus as regent (945–c. 963) for her son, Svyatoslav.
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Vatutin Monument: Gen. Nikolai Vatutin (1901-1944) was a Soviet military commander in Ukraine during World War II. He was killed in an ambush by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA).
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Bust of Ukrainian writer Hryhorii Kosynka (1899-1934) inside the St. Sophia Cathedral complex. Hosynka was arrested by the Soviet NKVD and accused of membership in a nationalist-terrorist organization. He was shot in 1934 and posthumously rehabilitated in 1957.
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Saint Sophia Cathedral as seen from in front of the Hyatt Hotel
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One of many mobile coffee vendors in central Kyiv
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Volodymyrska Street
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A Stalin-era complex of buildings on Khreshchatyk
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A building where many well-known Ukrainian writers lived is located on the corner of Mykhaila Kotsyubynskoho and Bohdana Khmelnytskoho Streets. Several commemorative plaques adorn its walls.
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One of many elaborate murals decorating buildings in Kyiv
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St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Cathedral: Completed in 1909, the church was closed by the Soviet authorities in 1938 and reconsecrated in 1992. The cathedral also houses the National House of Organ and Chamber Music of Ukraine.
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One of many colorful sculptures on Peizazhna Alley
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Mariinsky Park
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Central Museum of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
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The Golden Gate of Kyiv, the main gate in the 11th-century fortifications of Kyiv as the capital of Kyivan Rus, took its name from the Golden Gate of Constantinople. Dismantled in the Middle Ages, it was completely rebuilt by the Soviet authorities in 1982, without reference to the original appearance.