Kyiv will not dismantle the former Peoples’ Friendship Arch for now

In the capital, the “Freedom of the Ukrainian People” arch (formerly the Arch of Friendship of Peoples) will not be dismantled.

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This was stated by the Department of Culture of the Kyiv City State Administration, claiming that the meaning of the arch has been “rethought”, and the space near it will receive a new concept, the Official Portal of Kyiv reports.

The department notes that after the start of the full-scale invasion of Russia, the City Council decided to rename the Arch of Friendship of Peoples into the “Freedom of the Ukrainian People” arch, and the Soviet sculpture of two workers – a symbol of the “reunification” of Ukraine and Russia – was dismantled in April of the same year.

After professional study and consultations with the public, the KSCA working group to study issues of removing memorial objects related to the history and culture of Russia and the USSR from the public space of the city of Kyiv, on January 19 of this year, decided to preserve the “Freedom of the Ukrainian People” arch,” the statement says. message.

It is noted that Kyiv is at the final stage of decommunization and de-Russification of objects:

• In general, representatives of the capital’s authorities, together with specialists from specialized institutes of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the Institute of National Memory and experts, compiled a list of 297 memorial objects related to the history and culture of Russia and the USSR, which recommended their removal and/or relocation to specially designated storage areas for such objects;
• this list includes 95 monuments and more than 200 memorial signs and decoration elements.

In addition, spending significant funds from the city budget on dismantling the “Freedom of the Ukrainian People” arch is not the most important issue today, the Kyiv City State Administration believes. “After all, during martial law, the city, first of all, directs finances to help the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the uninterrupted functioning of the budgetary sector and solving the vital needs of the capital’s residents.

Source: Racurs

David

I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.