Arch of Diversity
| Арка Дружби Народів | |
 Peoples' Friendship Arch as seen from Maidan Nezalezhnosti | |
| Coordinates | 50°27′16″N 30°31′48″E / 50.45444°N 30.53000°ECoordinates: 50°27′16″N 30°31′48″E / 50.45444°N 30.53000°E |
|---|---|
| Location | Pechersk Raion, Kiev, Ukraine |
| Designer | Oleksandr Skoblikov (sculptor); Serhiy Myrhorodsky, Kostyantyn Sydorov, I.Ivanov (all - architects) |
| Type | complex of three sculptural elements of the monument |
| Material | metal, granite, bronze |
| Beginning date | 1978 |
| Completion date | 1982 |
| Opening date | Anniversary date of the October Revolution (November 7, 1982) |
| Dedicated to | Friendship between Russia and Ukraine |
| The monument opened the Chief of Communist Party Volodymyr Shcherbytsky | |
Friendship of Nations Arch (Ukrainian: Арка Дружби Народів, Arka Druzhby Narodiv, literally 'Arch of Friendship of Peoples') dedicated to the unification of Russia and Ukraine within the Soviet Union. The arch was constructed 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.
On 20 May 2016 the Ukrainian government announced plans to dismantle the arch as part of its decommunization policy. In its place is planned a memorial dedicated to veterans of the War in Donbass.[1][2] 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.[3]
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
The monument is located behind the buildings complex of the National Philharmonic Society of Ukraine in the Cross Park (Ukrainian: Хрещатий парк) which at the time of opening was called the Pioneer Park. 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
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Monument to the Friendship of Nations. |
- Kiev City Guide — Statues and monuments of Kiev City
- www.go2kiev.com — places to see in Kiev