SOVIET MODERNISM, MOSAICS AND MEMORIALS
The following itinerary outline describes our standard route across Ukraine as it was prior to the onset of the Russo-Ukrainian War (February 2022). Our current Soviet-heritage tours to Ukraine follow alternative circuits that are constantly subject to logistical amendments on the basis of the latest security updates. Get in touch for more info on our current customised journeys to Ukraine!
DAY 1 to DAY 2 — Kyiv
Meet-and-greet in the lobby of our hotel of choice in Kyiv and introductory briefing about the history and the architecture of Soviet Ukraine.
Two full days entirely devoted to Kyiv’s vast and diverse Soviet-era architectural legacy: constructivist experiments from the revolutionary 1920s, impressive neo-classic behemoths from the Stalinist Era, massive housing blocks from the heydays of Nikita Khrushchev, and – of course – a vast plethora of modernist masterpieces from the golden decades (1950s to 1980s) of the bygone USSR.
In addition to the above, we’ll also visit richly decorated Soviet-era metro stations, surprisingly well-preserved socialist-realist mosaics, the much-discussed People's Friendship Arch and, needless to say, the larger-than-life Mother Ukraine statue.
We strongly suggest getting your own copies of Decommunized: Ukrainian Soviet Mosaics and Ukraine: Art for Architecture (both edited by DOM Publishers) as well as Architectural Guide Kyiv (also by DOM) for a perfect introduction to your upcoming tour across (post) Soviet Ukraine.
Overnights in Kyiv.
DAY 3 — Chernobyl
The third day in Ukraine will be spent at notorious Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and the nearby abandoned city of Pripyat.
Our Chernobyl-Pripyat Tour is an epic post-Soviet urbex adventure that includes:
the Dytyatky checkpoint (gateway to the Exclusion Zone) and the semi-abandoned villages of Zalisya and Kopachi;
the fully abandoned modernist cities of Chernobyl of Pripyat with their diverse array of Soviet monuments, mosaics, memorials and other USSR-era leftovers such as the very last Lenin statues still standing in post-Maidan Ukraine, the splendidly plastic Prometheus Monument, the touching Saviours of the World sculpture and, of course, the world-famous ferris wheel in Pripyat Amusement Park;
the actual Chernobyl Power Plant (including reactor blocks, cooling towers and the new containment sarcophagus);
the vertigo-inducing Duga Radar, which was part of USSR’s missile defence early-warning radar network;
unique encounters with the so-called samosely (self-settlers), the proud dwellers of the Exclusion Zone who will share with us their home, their food and their stories of resilience and stubbornness.
Meals and overnight in Chernobyl.
DAY 4 — Slavutych
While many history-buffs and Soviet-geeks are morbidly attracted by Chernobyl and Pripyat, there is actually an even more interesting place to visit in its vicinity: Slavutych, the utopian planned city built to house the evacuated personnel of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, their families, and most of Pripyat’s inhabitants.
Architects, engineers and workers from eight former Soviet republics (Armenian SSR, Azerbaijan SSR, Estonian SSR, Georgian SSR, Latvian SSR, Lithuanian SSR, Russian SFSR and Ukrainian SSR) were called in to help with the urban planning, the architectural design and the actual construction of Slavutych.
Slavutych is, indeed, an urban epitomisation of the friendship spirit that used to reign amongst the peoples of the Soviet Union and its eight districts were named after the capitals of the contributing republics, each with its own unique style and atmosphere: a true experimental heaven for architecture-connoisseurs and USSR-aficionados.
On our way back to Kyiv, we’ll make a short detour to the historic city of Chernihiv to visit the pretty historical downtown and a few more recent (and über-Soviet) brutal-modernist buildings such as the towering Hotel Gradetskuj and the space-age Wedding Palace.
Overnight in Kyiv.
DAY 5 — Cherkasy
We’ll leave Kyiv early in the morning and begin our Soviet-themed journey along the Dnieper, one of the major rivers of Europe, springing up in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia and running through Belarus and Ukraine, before eventually flowing into the Black Sea, thus ideally connecting the three Slavic nations of the former USSR.
Our first photo stop en route will be the vast Bukrynsky Platsdarm Memorial, dedicated to one of the most hardly fought bridgeheads along the Dnieper, which saw the valiant Red Army resisting against over the fury of the German 8th Armee Oberkommando.
After a lunch break in the tranquil riverside town of Kaniv, we’ll then reach the city of Cherkasy, one of the most important cultural centres for the Ukrainian Cossacks who lived beyond the Dnieper Rapids, the land also known under the historical term Wild Fields (dikoye polye) in today's Central Ukraine.
Once in Cherkasy, we’ll visit the bustling Central Farmers’ Market, the stately Hill of Glory Memorial Complex and the Regional Museum, whose futuristic Soviet-modernist building is probably more interesting than the actual exhibits.
Dinner and overnight in Cherkasy.
DAY 6 — Dnipropetrovsk
Early start in Cherkasy and transfer to Kremenchuk, a quintessentially Soviet industrial town with plenty of captivating socialist-era architecture and public art on display.
After a Soviet-themed walk around Kremenchuk and a quick lunch stop in the traditional Ukrainian village of Kutsevolivka, we’ll continue our southbound journey towards Dnipro, formerly known as Dnipropetrovsk (after Ukrainian Soviet politician Grigory Petrovsky), where we’ll spend the entire afternoon touring its exceptionally ample assortment of Soviet architectural jewels and public artworks.
Before reaching Dnipro itself, however, we plan two more breaks to homage the Soviet War Memorials at Verkhnodniprovsk and Aulsky Platsdarm, the latter being peculiarly reminiscent of a Yugoslav spomenik.
Dinner and overnight in Dnipro.
DAY 7 — Zaporizhzhia
Late morning start from Dnipro and transfer to Zaporizhzhia, the administrative centre of the namesake oblast.
En route to Zaporizhzhia we’ll make a de rigueur photo stop at the Dniprovsky Platsdarm Memorial, a pyramid-shaped monumental complex honouring the memory of the Soviet soldiers who died in 1943 during the crossing of the Dnieper.
We’ll arrive in Zaporizhzhia around noon to begin our Soviet-themed tour of this extremely interesting city: impressive modernist and stalinist architecture, splendid socialist-realist mosaics, Soviet monuments and memorials and the rather unmissable Sotsgorod (socialist city), a mostly constructivist planned neighbourhood built between 1929 and 1932 with the aim of creating an archetypical socialist community for the new humanity that was (optimistically) said to have been taking shape after the history-changing events of the October Revolution.
If time allows, we’ll also pay a visit to the sadly decommunized Dnieper Hydroelectric Station, an admirable marvel of Soviet engineering rebuilt between 1944-1950 after it was dynamited and blown up by the retreating Red Army troops in 1941 during the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Ukraine.
Dinner and overnight in Zaporizhzhia.
DAY 8 — Goodbye Ukraine!
After enjoying a last Ukrainian meal together, we'll take care of your transfer to either Zaporizhzhia International Airport or Kyiv International Airport.
For those wishing to take the train/bus to reach further destinations, we’ll arrange for a transfer to the local train/bus station in Zaporizhzhia.
Do you wish to spend more time in Ukraine and explore further offbeat Soviet remnants? Get in touch for more info on our private Soviet Tours around Ukraine! Possible tour extensions to this itinerary include: East Germany and/or Moldova.
End of the tour.
1990 €
INCLUSIONS
Double/twin-room accommodation (breakfast included), private transport in Ukraine (car/minivan), all entrance fees, English-speaking guiding service, 24/7 on-site and remote assistance.
EXCLUSIONS
Single supplement, international flights, main meals (lunches and dinners), extra drinks, visa fees (if required), tips, travel insurance.
Our Ukraine Tours are offered in collaboration with Ukrainian Modernism - Guarding the Heritage, a cultural collective of local photographers, architects, historians, journalists, and activists engaged in the mammoth task of documenting, promoting and preserving the Soviet architectural, artistic and monumental legacy of the Ukrainian SSR.
© Dmytro Soloviov | Ukrainian Modernism© Gianluca Pardelli | www.gianlucapardelli.com