Klitschko named the best solution for the site of the former Lenin monument
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko is convinced that installing a classic Kyiv fountain on the site of the toppled monument to Vladimir Lenin across from the Bessarabsky Market is the most neutral and appropriate solution for this public space.
He made this statement on Wednesday during a meeting of the Kyiv City Council on Accessibility, Interfax-Ukraine reports.
According to the mayor, he is approached daily by sculptors and activists with radically opposing proposals for filling this space—ranging from a monument to Hetman Pavlo Skoropadskyi to the installation of a figure of a Cossack with a cross. Klitschko noted that this location at the corner of Taras Shevchenko Boulevard and Khreshchatyk has a complex history, and the appearance of any new personalized monument will inevitably spark large-scale public debate and a divide in the views of Kyiv residents. At the same time, transforming the previously isolated “island” into an inclusive recreational area with a fountain will breathe new life into the space and make it accessible to all pedestrians.
Valentin Mondriyevskyi, Deputy Head of the Kyiv City State Administration, commented on the current status of the space’s renovation. He explained that there is currently no final approved reconstruction project, as the visualizations and renderings previously published online did not comply with current building codes, so architects are continuing to work on the documentation. According to the concept, in addition to the fountain, the site will feature modern lighting, comfortable walkways, benches, and new landscaping.
Despite the city administration’s arguments, the idea of a water feature has drawn criticism from historians and politicians:
Position of the UINP: Oleksandr Alferov, head of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance, called the decision to install a fountain “ideologically dangerous” and emphasized that this site should historically house a monument to Hetman Pavlo Skoropadskyi.
Parliament’s reaction: In April, the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy officially appealed to the city authorities, demanding that they take expert assessments and public opinion into account before making final decisions regarding the reconstruction of this iconic intersection.
In Kyiv, a proposal was made to hold an open competition for the development of the area on Shevchenko Boulevard, where a monument to the Bolshevik dictator Vladimir Lenin stood until the Revolution of Dignity. At the Public Council under the Kyiv City State Administration, architects and sculptors discussed the idea of creating a new monument.
