''Mother Ukraine'' or ''Statue of Liberty'' ( ) is a monumental

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

-era statue in

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, ...

, the capital of

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 ...

. The sculpture is a part of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War. In 2023, the Soviet heraldry was removed from the monument's shield and replaced with Ukraine's coat of arms, the ''tryzub''.

Name

The monument's initial name was the ''Mother Motherland'' (), which derives from Russian ''Mother Motherland'' (), a name for the

national personification A national personification is an anthropomorphic personification of a state or the people(s) it inhabits. It may appear in political cartoons and propaganda. In the first personifications in the Western World, warrior deities or figures symboliz ...

used by both

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. Along with other monuments built across the USSR (e.g. ''

The Motherland Calls ''The Motherland Calls'' () is a colossal neoclassicism, neoclassicist and socialist realism, socialist realist war memorial sculpture on Mamayev Kurgan in Volgograd, Russia. Designed primarily by sculptor Yevgeny Vuchetich with assistance fro ...

'' in

Volgograd Volgograd,. formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area of , with a population ...

), the statue originally symbolized Soviet victory in 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 ...

. On 29 July 2023, amidst the removal of the Soviet heraldry from the monument, the director of the memorial complex Yuri Savchuk announced that it would be renamed to ''Mother Ukraine'', yet as of now no official decision by the Ukrainian

Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications The Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications (MCSC), known previously as Ministry of Culture and Information Policy (MCIP), is the main state authority in the system of central government of Ukraine responsible for ensuring the informatio ...

had been made.

Description

The

titanium Titanium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in ...

statue stands tall with the overall structure measuring including its base and weighing 560 tonnes. The sword in the statue's right hand is long, weighing 9 tonnes, with the left hand holding up a shield originally emblazoned with the hammer and sickle emblem of the

. Initially, the statue was drawn by the sculptor

Yevgeny Vuchetich Yevgeny Viktorovich Vuchetich (Russian: Евгений Викторович Вучетич; –12 April 1974) was a Soviet sculptor and artist. He is known for his heroic monuments, often of allegoric style, including ''The Motherland Calls'', t ...

. Vuchetich based the statue on the Ukrainian painter Nina Danyleiko. When Vuchetich died in 1974, the project was continued by Vasyl Borodai, who used Ukrainian sculptor Halyna Kalchenko, a daughter of the Chairman of the

Council of Ministers Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...

of the

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

Nikifor Kalchenko, as the model. The base of the statue houses the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War. The memorial hall of the museum displays marble plaques with carved names of more than 11,600 soldiers and over 200 workers of the home-front honoured during the war with the title of the

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union () was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The title was awarded both ...

and the

Hero of Socialist Labour The Hero of Socialist Labour () was an Title of honor, honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It represented the highest degree of distinction in the USSR and was awarded for exceptional achievem ...

. On the hill beneath the museum, traditional flower shows are held. The sword of the statue was shortened by four meters from its project height. Some sources claim this was done so that the tip of the sword was lower than the cross of the

Kyiv Pechersk Lavra The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra or Kyievo-Pecherska Lavra (), also known as the Kyiv Monastery of the Caves, is a historic lavra or large monastery of Eastern Christianity that gave its name to the Pecherskyi District where it is located in Kyiv. Sin ...

. In reality, however, it was done to resolve aerodynamic problems identified during wind tunnel testing by specialists from Moscow.

Background

In the 1950s there were plans to construct twin monuments of

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

and

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

, nearly tall each on the site. However, this did not go ahead. Instead, according to legend, in the 1970s, a group of Communist Party officials and Soviet sculptor

looked across at the hills by the Lavra and decided the panorama needed a war memorial. Vuchetich had designed the other two most famous giant Soviet war memorials, ''

'' in

and the Soviet soldier carrying German infant in

East Berlin East Berlin (; ) was the partially recognised capital city, capital of East Germany (GDR) from 1949 to 1990. From 1945, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet occupation sector of Berlin. The American, British, and French se ...

. The statue was modelled after one of his coworkers, Mila Hazinsky. However, after Vuchetich died in 1974, the design of the memorial was substantially reworked, and only the eyes and eyebrows remained from the original face. It was then completed under the guidance of Vasyl Borodai. In 2023 Ukrainian TV channel

1+1 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

interviewed the grandson of Vasyl Borodai who presented them with the original projects of the statue. According to him, the sculptor originally wanted the statue to hold a

palm branch The palm branch, or palm frond, is a symbol of victory, triumph, peace, and eternal life originating in the ancient Near East and Mediterranean world. The palm ''(Phoenix (plant), Phoenix)'' was sacred in Mesopotamian religions, and in ancient E ...

, the symbol of peace. The Communist Party, however, wanted a sword. Final plans for the statue were made in 1978, with construction beginning in 1979. It was controversial, with many criticising the costs and claiming the funds could have been better spent elsewhere. When Director of Construction Ivan Petrovich was asked to confirm the cost of 9 million

rubles The ruble or rouble (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is a currency unit. Currently, currencies named ''ruble'' in circulation include the Russian ruble (RUB, ₽) in Russia and the Belarusian ruble (BYN, Rbl) in Belarus. These currencies are su ...

, he responded that this was a conservative estimate. The statue was opened on

Victory Day Victory Day is a commonly used name for public holidays in various countries, where it commemorates a nation's triumph over a hostile force in a war or the liberation of a country from hostile occupation. In many cases, multiple countries may ob ...

1981 in a ceremony attended by

Soviet General Secretary The General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. was the leader of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). From 1924 until the country's dissolution in 1991, the officeholder was the recognize ...

Leonid Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (19 December 190610 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1964 until Death and state funeral of Leonid Brezhnev, his death in 1982 as w ...

. In modern-day Kyiv, the statue remains controversial, with some claiming it should be pulled down and its metal used for more functional purposes. Financial shortages mean that the flame, which uses up to of gas per hour, can only burn on the most prominent national holidays, and rumours persist that the statue is built on unstable foundations, something vehemently denied by the Kyiv city government.

Decommunisation

In April 2015, the parliament of Ukraine outlawed Soviet and communist symbols, street names, and monuments as part of the decommunisation of Ukraine. However,

World War II 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 ...

monuments are excluded from these laws. Director of the

Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance The Ukrainian Institute of National Memory (UINM, ), also translated as the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance, is the central executive body operating under the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. Established on 31 May 2006 as a special org ...

Volodymyr Viatrovych Volodymyr Mykhailovych Viatrovych (; born 7 July 1977) is a Ukrainian historian, civic activist and politician. Viatrovych was the Director of the Center for Research of Liberation Movement in 2002–2010. Viatrovych is a member of the board of ...

stated in February 2018 that the

Soviet state emblem The State Emblem of the Soviet Union was the official symbol of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics adopted in 1923 and used until the Dissolution of the Soviet Union, dissolution of the state in 1991. Although it technically is an emblem ...

on the shield of the monument should be removed and replaced with the Ukrainian trident coat of arms. On 6 May 2023, the

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: * Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) * Ministry of Culture (Algeria) * Ministry of Culture (Argentina) * Minister for the Arts (Australia) * Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan)Ministry o ...

announced that plans to remove the Soviet crest and replace it with the Ukrainian

tryzub The coat of arms of Ukraine is a blue shield with a golden trident. It is colloquially known as the ''tryzub'' (, , ). The small coat of arms was officially adopted on 19 February 1992, while constitutional provisions exist for establishing ...

were underway. On 13 July 2023, the DIAM urban planning agency announced that the Soviet state emblem would be replaced with the Ukrainian trident coat of arms. DIAM claims that in 2022, 85% of 800,000 consulted citizens favoured replacing the Soviet imagery with the trident emblem. The work to remove the Soviet emblem began on 13 July 2023. The design of the trident was developed by Ukrainian sculptor Oleksiy Perhamenshchyk with help of the third

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. ...

Viktor Yushchenko Viktor Andriiovych Yushchenko (, ; born 23 February 1954) is a Ukrainian politician who was the third president of Ukraine from 23 January 2005 to 25 February 2010. He aimed to orient Ukraine towards Western world, the West, European Union, and N ...

. On 1 August 2023, the Soviet emblem was removed from the Motherland Monument. Its replacement by the Ukrainian Trident began on 5 August 2023, as part of the preparations for the

Independence Day of Ukraine Independence Day of Ukraine (, ) is a public holidays in Ukraine, state holiday in Ukraine, celebrated on 24 August in commemoration of the Declaration of Independence of Ukraine, Declaration of Independence of 1991. History When Ukraine was st ...

on 24 August. It was completed on schedule despite the crew facing problems of intense wind, heavy rain and Russian air raids. The emblem replacement raised a controversy about the state budget spending during the wartime. Before the work was finished Ukrainian parliament voted to dismiss Minister of Culture Oleksandr Tkachenko. On 1 August 2024, director of the

Paton Institute of Electric Welding E. O. Paton Electric Welding Institute () is a welding research institution situated in Kyiv, Ukraine. It is named after its founder, Professor Evgeny Paton. History The institute was established in 1934 following the decree of the Ukrainian A ...

Ihor Krivtsun stated that according to his institute's inspection the trident on the shield is at risk of being corroded and pulled out. Oleksiy Perhamenshchyk denied that, saying that the replacement work was overlooked by Shimanovsky Institute of Steel Construction that overlooked the construction in the 70's and that the trident was made of stainless steel with the same material proportion as the rest of the statue while the effect mistaken for corrosion that was seen from the drones was actually a yellowing of the upper nanolayer of the welding seam caused by interaction of air with 0.08% carbon that the steel contains. The

War Museum A military museum or war museum is an institution dedicated to the preservation and education of the significance of wars, conflicts, and military actions. These museums serve as repositories of artifacts (not least weapons), documents, photographs ...

stated that the actual results of the inspection didn't show any signs of corrosion, instead there were only minor defects which the institute agreed to fix. 10 October museum's press service informed that Paton Institute fixed all the minor defects, finishing the decommunization process, according to their latest inspection the welds now meet all the requirements of regulatory documentation.

In popular culture

A scene in the 2006 novel ''

World War Z ''World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War'' is a 2006 zombie apocalyptic horror novel written by American author Max Brooks. The novel is broken into eight chapters: “Warnings”, “Blame”, “The Great Panic”, “Turning the Tid ...

'' depicts a Ukrainian tank commander and his surviving men fleeing in their vehicles from an abandoned and burning Kyiv under the watchful gaze of the monument.Brooks, Max, ''World War Z'', p.118, Duckworth Overlook, The monument was the site of a

pit stop Pitstop may refer to: * Pit stop, in motor racing, when the car stops in the pits for fuel and other consumables to be renewed or replenished * ''Pit Stop'' (1969 film), a movie directed by Jack Hill * ''Pit Stop'' (2013 film), a movie directe ...

during the tenth episode of ''

The Amazing Race 10 ''The Amazing Race 10'' is the tenth season of the American reality competition show ''The Amazing Race''. Hosted by Phil Keoghan, it featured twelve teams of two, each with a pre-existing relationship, competing in a race around the world to wi ...

''. The monument is prominently featured in the music video for the song "Get Out" by the Scottish band

Frightened Rabbit Frightened Rabbit were a Scottish indie rock band from Selkirk, formed in 2003. Initially a solo project for vocalist and guitarist Scott Hutchison, the final lineup of the band consisted of Hutchison, his brother Grant (drums), Billy Kenned ...

Gallery

File:Почтовая марка СССР № 5564. 1984. 40-летие освобождения Украины от фашистской оккупации.jpg, The monument on a 1984 Soviet stamp "40th anniversary of the liberation of Soviet Ukraine from German fascist invaders" File:PМати.jpg, File:Монумент та прапор.jpg, View with File:Kyiv - Mother monument.jpg, File:Motherland Monument Tank.jpg File:Марка «Україна-мати».jpg, The monument on a 2023 Ukrainian stamp File:Родина-Мать.jpg

References

External links

Official website

Information about visiting, exposition, and fees

Museum Collections
{{authority control 1981 sculptures Soviet military memorials and cemeteries in Ukraine Decommunization in Ukraine Monuments and memorials in Kyiv Landmarks in Kyiv Steel sculptures in Ukraine 1981 in Ukraine Allegorical sculptures in Ukraine Buildings and structures completed in 1981 Buildings and structures in Kyiv Colossal statues in Ukraine Architecture in the Soviet Union Symbols of Kyiv Victory monuments National personifications Outdoor sculptures in Kyiv Tourist attractions in Kyiv Sculptures of women in the Soviet Union

Mother Ukraine ''Mother Ukraine'' or ''Statue of Liberty'' ( ) is a monumental Soviet-era statue in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. The sculpture is a part of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War. In 2023, the Soviet heraldry wa ...

Soviet monuments outside Russia