Kyiv is dismantling over 200 Soviet monuments: what will disappear from the streets of the capital.

According to ТСН: Work continues in Kyiv to dismantle monuments and other elements associated with Soviet and Russian history.

Deputy Head of the Kyiv City State Administration and Head of the Inter-Agency Working Group Hanna Starostyenko reported this. She noted that Kyiv has been rethinking its public space for over 10 years, relying on expert conclusions and open dialogue with the public. Each case of memorial objects is analyzed comprehensively, taking into account their historical context, symbolic value, and the sensitivity of the topic for residents. It is also important to commemorate the memory of outstanding Ukrainian figures and modern heroes in the capital.

“Kyiv has been consistently rethinking its public space for over 10 years. This policy is based on professional expert conclusions and open dialogue with the community. Each issue regarding memorial objects is considered comprehensively—taking into account the historical context, symbolic significance, and sensitivity of the theme for the residents. At the same time, Ukraine has its own outstanding figures, cultural personalities, and modern Heroes, whose memory deserves to be duly represented in the public space of the capital,” Starostyenko noted.

According to the decision of the Kyiv City Council, the list of objects to be removed includes 251 memorial objects. More than 170 of them have already been dismantled, and another 36 objects are being prepared for dismantling or adjustment. Some 37 objects are cultural heritage sites, so their further fate will be decided after consultation with the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine.

It is also planned to remove prohibited or ideologically marked symbols from objects that have architectural, historical, or urban planning value, with the aim of preserving them.

Among the objects undergoing changes

• Market “Zhitniy” (Podilskyi district) — decorative facade decoration with the removal of inscriptions “Baltic Sea,” “Leningrad,” “Neva,” and the quote “Trade is the only possible economic connection between tens of millions”;

• object at the entrance to Kyiv (Holosiivskyi district) — removal of prohibited symbols;

• building at Ivan Dracha St., 3 — removal of certain ideological elements;

• sign of Kyiv's border (Sviatoshynskyi district) — removal of the USSR coat of arms;

• building at Architect Horodetsky St., 9 — removal of the inscription “MUP USSR”;

• memorial sign “Zero Kilometer” / Globe — major renovation with the removal of names of Russian cities;

• memorial plaque to Viktor Vasnetsov — restoration with the removal of the word “Russian”;

• monument to the liberators — text in Ukrainian, replacement of the dates “1941-1945” with “1939-1945,” changing the wording “Great Patriotic War” to “World War II.”

The Kyiv City Council also supported the dismantling of monuments to Dmytro Manuylskyi, Mykhailo Glinka, Anna Akhmatova, and Mykhailo Bulgakov, the symbolic sign “Kyiv — Hero City” with a five-pointed star, the memorial stone in honor of Lenin's centenary, the memorial plaque for Pyotr Tchaikovsky, and the memorial plaque regarding the underground work of the Shevchenko district committee of the Communist Party(b) of Ukraine during the period of German-Fascist occupation.

It is reminded that previously it was reported that in Odesa local activists threw a noose around the monument to Pushkin.

These actions in Kyiv are part of a broader initiative aimed at the renewal of the public space of the city. The dismantling of monuments is connected with new societal priorities that emphasize the importance of commemorating the memory of Ukrainian figures, as well as considering historical heritage and modernity. The discussion and adoption of such decisions occur with active public participation, demonstrating the maturity of democratic processes in Ukraine.