The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier () is a

war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

located in the Ukrainian capital of

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, ...

, dedicated to the soldiers of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

killed 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 ...

. It is situated at the Memorial of Eternal Glory inside the Park of Eternal Glory. The memorial is a 27 meters high obelisk, with an

eternal flame An eternal flame is a flame, lamp or torch that burns for an indefinite time. Most eternal flames are ignited and tended intentionally, but some are natural phenomena caused by natural gas leaks, peat fires and coal seam fires, all of which ca ...

burning at the tomb. The Alley of Heroes leads to the tomb.

Overview

The tomb was opened on 6 November 1957, on the eve of the

ruby jubilee A ruby jubilee marks a 40th anniversary. Ruby jubilees in recent history See also * Hierarchy of precious substances * List of longest-reigning monarchs * List of current reigning monarchs by length of reign * Wedding anniversary A wed ...

of the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

. On 8 May 1967, it was dedicated to the memory of all the unknown Ukrainian soldiers who gave their lives in the Liberation of Ukraine. International dignitaries such as U.S. President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

, Azerbaijani President

Ilham Aliyev Ilham Heydar Oghlu Aliyev (born 24 December 1961) is an Azerbaijani politician who has been the fourth president of Azerbaijan since 2003. He is also the leader of the New Azerbaijan Party since 2005. The son and second child of former Aze ...

, Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius, Russian President

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

, and Turkish Prime Minister

Recep Tayyip Erdogan Recep is a Turkish name deriving from the Arabic name Rajab. It may refer to: People Surname * Aziz Recep (born 1992), German-Greek footballer * Sibel Recep (born 1987), Swedish pop singer Given name * Recep Adanır (1929–2017), Turkish fo ...

have visited and laid wreaths at the tomb. It is official protocol by the State Protocol Department of the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

for dignitaries on

state visit A state visit is a formal visit by the head of state, head of a sovereign state, sovereign country (or Governor-general, representative of the head of a sovereign country) to another sovereign country, at the invitation of the head of state (or ...

s to lay wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The British government has annually held

Remembrance Day Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day owing to the tradition of wearing a remembrance poppy) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces me ...

services at the tomb. Since Ukrainian decommunization laws came into effect in 2015, the monument has become a divisive symbol between the pro-Russian population and the nationalist population.

Gallery

File:Kiev's unknown soldier.jpg, The unknown soldier File:80-382-0519 Kiev Slavy Komplex 004.jpg, A

Ukrainian Navy The Ukrainian Navy (), is the Navy, maritime force of Ukraine and one of the eight Military branch, service branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The naval forces consist of five components: surface forces, submarine forces, Ukrainian Naval ...

honor guard A guard of honour (Commonwealth English), honor guard (American English) or ceremonial guard, is a group of people, typically drawn from the military, appointed to perform ceremonial duties – for example, to receive or guard a head of state ...

marching to the tomb. File:Eternal flame in Kiev.JPG, The eternal flame File:Dmitry Medvedev in Ukraine 17 May 2010-3.jpeg,

Dmitry Medvedev Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev (born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician and lawyer who has served as Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia since 2020. Medvedev was also President of Russia between 2008 and 2012 and Prime Mini ...

and Viktor Yanukovich at the tomb. File:Слави пл..jpg, The eternal flame at night.

References

{{coord, 50.4391, 30.5532, type:landmark_region:UA, display=title Soviet military memorials and cemeteries in Ukraine Monuments and memorials built in the Soviet Union Buildings and structures completed in 1957 Tombs of Unknown Soldiers Monuments and memorials in Kyiv Soviet monuments outside Russia