The Mariinskyi Palace () is the official residence of the

president of Ukraine The president of Ukraine (, ) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, conducts negotiations and concludes international treaties. ...

. The

Elizabethan baroque Elizabethan Baroque ( or ) is a term for the Russian Baroque architectural style, developed during the reign of Elizabeth of Russia between 1741 and 1762. It is also called style Rocaille or Rococo style. The Italian architect Francesco Bartol ...

palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

is sited on the right bank of the

Dnipro River The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, adjoining the neo-classical building of the Verkhovna Rada, the parliament of Ukraine.

History

The palace was constructed by command of the

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

empress The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Elizaveta Petrovna Elizabeth or Elizaveta Petrovna (; ) was Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She remains one of the most popular Russian monarchs because of her decision not to execute a single person during her reign, her numerous constructi ...

in 1744; her architect was

Bartolomeo Rastrelli Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli (; 1700 – 29 April 1771) was an Italian architect who worked mainly in Russia. He developed an easily recognizable style of Late Baroque, both sumptuous and majestic. His major works, including the Winter Palace ...

, the most eminent architect working in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

at that time. One of the students of Rastrelli, Ivan Michurin, together with a group of other architects, completed the palace in 1752. Empress Elizabeth, however, did not live to see the palace completed; the first senior-ranking member of the imperial family to stay in the palace was Empress Elizabeth's niece-in-law, Empress Catherine II, who visited Kyiv in 1787. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the palace was the main residence of the

governors-general Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

. In the early 19th century, the palace burned down in a series of fires, and was in total disrepair and abandoned for almost half a century. In 1870,

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Alexander II had the palace reconstructed by the architect Konstantin Mayevsky, using old drawings and

watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour ( Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting method"Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to the ...

s as a guide. It was then renamed after the reigning Empress Maria Alexandrovna. By her wish, a large park was established off the southern side of the palace. The palace was used as a residence for visiting members of the Imperial Family until 1917. During the years of the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

in 1917–1920, the palace was used as the

revkom A revolutionary committee or revkom ({{langx, ru, Революционный комитет, ревком) were Bolshevik-led organizations in Soviet Russia and other Soviet republics established to serve as provisional governments and temporary S ...

'' headquarters, particularly during the

Kyiv Bolshevik Uprising The Kiev Bolshevik Uprising (November 8–13, 1917) was a military struggle for power in Kiev after the fall of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution. It ended in victory for the Kievan Committee of the Bolshevik Party a ...

. In the 1920s, the building belonged to an agricultural school, soon after which it became a museum. The Mariinskyi was badly damaged during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and was restored at the end of the 1940s. Another major restoration was completed in the early 1980s.

Modern residence

In June 2007, the reconstruction of the palace began, which was expected to be completed by 2011, but as of 2017, was still ongoing. On April 5, 2022, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that the White Hall of the Mariinskyi Palace, where the state leadership receives heads of foreign states, will be called the White Hall of Heroes of Ukraine, and those who have been awarded the title of

Hero of Ukraine A Hero of Ukraine (HOU; ) is the highest national decoration that can be conferred upon an individual citizen by the president of Ukraine. The decoration was created in 1998 by President Leonid Kuchma. As of 6 June 2025, the total number of re ...

will be awarded here.

In popular culture

The music video for the song "

Naatu Naatu "Naatu Naatu" () is a 2021 Indian Telugu-language song composed by M. M. Keeravani, with lyrics by Chandrabose and recorded by Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava for the soundtrack album of the 2022 Indian film '' RRR''. It was released on 1 ...

" from the 2022 Indian

Telugu language Telugu (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language native to the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where it is also the official language. Spoken by about 96 million people (2022), Telugu is the most widely spoken member of ...

film '' RRR'' was filmed at Mariinskyi Palace in August 2021. The song won the 2022

Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song The Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song is a Golden Globe Award that was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The award is presented to the songwriters of a ...

and the 95th Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Gallery

File:Марії́нський пала́ц у Києві.jpg, View of the rear of the palace from its gardens File:Clinton Kuchma 2000 Kiev.jpg, Inside. President

Kuchma Leonid Danylovych Kuchma (, ; born 9 August 1938) is a Ukrainian politician who was the second president of Ukraine, serving from 19 July 1994 to 23 January 2005. The only president of Ukraine to serve two terms, his presidency was marked by demo ...

talks with United States President

Clinton Clinton is an English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton has also been used as a given nam ...

. June 5, 2000. File:Visit of Prince Nikolaus of Liechtenstein to Ukraine 04.jpg, The official visit of Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein to

in June 2018 File:Украина, Киев - Мариинский дворец 05.jpg, The palace is surrounded by intricate iron railings. File:Маріїнський палац Київ 1911.jpg, The Mariinskyi Palace in 1911 File:Царський (Маріїнський) палац Київ 1888.jpg, The Mariinskyi Palace in 1888 File:Joe Biden visit to Kyiv 02.jpg, US President

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

with Ukrainian President

Volodymyr Zelenskyy Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy (born 25 January 1978) is a Ukrainian politician and former entertainer who has served as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019. He took office five years after the start of the Russo-Ukraini ...

in Kyiv, February 20, 2023

References

External links