People's Friendship Arch

The Peoples' Friendship Arch (Ukrainian: Арка дружби народів, romanized: Arka druzhby narodiv) is a monument in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. It was opened together with the All-Union Lenin Museum (today, Ukrainian House) on November 7, 1982 to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the USSR and the celebration of the 1,500th Anniversary of the Kiev city.

Peoples' Friendship Arch
Арка дружби народів
The People's Friendship Arch
Coordinates50°27′16″N 30°31′48″E
LocationPechersk Raion, Kiev, Ukraine
DesignerOleksandr Skoblikov (sculptor); Serhiy Myrhorodsky, Kostyantyn Sydorov, I.Ivanov (all - architects)
Typecomplex of three sculptural elements of the monument
Materialmetal, granite, bronze
Beginning date1978
Completion date1982
Opening dateAnniversary date of the October Revolution (November 7, 1982)
The monument opened the First Secretary of Communist Party Volodymyr Shcherbytsky

On 20 May 2016 the Ukrainian government announced plans to dismantle the arch as part of its decommunization laws. In its place is planned a memorial dedicated to veterans of the War in Donbass.[1][2] Director of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance Volodymyr Viatrovych stated in February 2018 that "a sculptural group" of the monument should be removed according to the decommunization laws.[3]

For the Eurovision Song Contest 2017, the arch was temporarily painted into a rainbow and renamed the Arch of Diversity; with the arch doubling as the symbol of the Kyiv Pride parade. At night, the arch illuminates as a rainbow as well.[4] Three weeks later everything was turned back to normal.[5]

Description

The Friendship Arch was constructed in 1982 by sculptor A. Skoblikov and architect I. Ivanov and others. The monument consists of three sculptural elements an arch and two statues.

  • A huge, 50 m (164 ft) in diameter, rainbow-shaped arch, made of titanium.
  • A bronze statue depicting a Russian and Ukrainian workers holding up the Soviet Order of Friendship of Peoples
  • A granite stele depicting the participants of the Pereyaslav Council of 1654.

There is a viewing deck there where most of the east bank can be viewed, Troieschyna and towards the north of the city, Podil and Obolon.

Location
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The monument is located behind the buildings complex of the National Philharmonic Society of Ukraine in "Khreschatyi" Park (Ukrainian: Хрещатий парк) which at the time of opening was called the Pioneer Park.

Park Bridge

The monument complex sits on top of the right bank of Dnieper river overwatching the Park Bridge and the Shore Highway (Ukrainian: Набережне шосе, Naberezhne shose). Park Bridge is a pedestrian bridge that connects the city with Trukhaniv island.

See also

References
  1. "Giant Soviet-era arch in Kyiv to be possibly replaced by a monument to Ukrainian soldiers". Ukraine Today. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  2. "Нищук: Пам'ятник воїнам АТО можуть поставити замість Арки дружби народів". Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  3. (in Ukrainian) De-communism in Ukraine is actually completed - Vyatrovich, Ukrayinska Pravda (10 February 2018)
  4. "Kiev gets world's biggest rainbow to promote diversity". 26 April 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  5. In Kiev from the People's Friendship Arch took off the "rainbow" (У Києві з Арки дружби народів прибрали "веселку" (фото)). UNIAN. 17 May 2017


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