Introducing Kyiv
Your first impression of Kyiv is bound to be one of surprise. This cradle of all that is Russian, this receptacle of ‘New Ukrainian’ wealth, this paradise of crooked politicians and gangsters is so...beautiful. Especially if you arrive in the summer, Kyiv will entice you the moment you gaze upon its gold domes lighting up the leafy banks of the Dnipro.
Kyiv’s original settlers surely chose this spot 1500 years ago because of its natural beauty. Modern-day Kyiv is part Kyivan Rus, part Soviet, part Ukrainian-nationalist and part capitalist mayhem. Turn-of-the-20th-century architecture mixes with Soviet monumentalism and flashy office buildings; and statues glorify characters as diverse as Lesi Ukrainka, Lenin and Lobanovsky.
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Overhead of Vulitsya Kominternu looking towards Kyiv Railway Station.
- Peter Thornton
- Lonely Planet photographer
