“Soviet” decorations set up on Heavenly Hundred Alley for Independence Day: National Corps tear them down and local authorities express surprise

The Office of the President promised to review the concept of the staging.

In Kyiv, on Heavenly Hundred Alley opposite the portraits of those killed during the Revolution of Dignity, staged decorations for Ukraine's Independence Day were installed, which ultimately grew into a scandal.

As people noticed on social media, they imitated Soviet apartments and household items, such as vending machines with soda water. This caused a wave of outrage on social networks, and activists from the National Corps wrecked the decorations.

The reaction of local authorities, the spat with the Office of the President and the views of citizens and activists — details in the article.

“Soviet” decorations

Starting at 7 a.m. on August 17, staged decorations began to be installed in the middle of the memorial on Heavenly Hundred Alley in Kyiv.  

At the same time, one of the main reasons for public outrage was not just the “Soviet” decorations as a reminder of the totalitarian regime, but also where they were placed.

In particular, some of the decorations blocked the Wall of Memory with portraits of those killed during the Revolution of Dignity.

The Office of the President's explanation

Later, when the wave of criticism had already spread online, Zelensky's office explained that these were supposed to be decorations for television filming of part of the August 24 celebrations.

“These decorations were meant for filming an artistic production — a historical overview of different periods of Ukrainian history, from Kievan Rus to the present day. Afterwards, the decoration was to be dismantled,” the Office of the President told Ukrainska Pravda.

The Office of the President noted that it had listened to the public and would “review the creative concept.”

Klitschko's reaction

Right after the wave of outrage arose, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko came to the site. He said the Kyiv City State Administration “knew nothing” about such an installation and ordered the local municipal services to begin dismantling the decorations.

According to Klitschko, the project had been approved with the leadership of the National Memorial Complex of the Heavenly Hundred Heroes.

Vitali Klitschko
Mayor of Kyiv

Under the order of the Kyiv City State Administration, for the 30th anniversary of Ukraine's Independence, only the laying of flowers is planned on the Heavenly Hundred Heroes Alley. An inspector from the Kyiv City State Administration's Department of Landscaping is currently on site and is waiting for the Memorial's leadership to provide the documents on the basis of which the installation was set up. I believe that symbols of nostalgia for the Soviet Union are inappropriate in a place where Ukrainian patriots died.

Notably, the Office of the President refuted the mayor's words. According to Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the head of the Office of the President, Klitschko could not have failed to know about the planned filming with the installations.

Mykhailo Podolyak
adviser to the head of the Office of the President

This is a very strange event. It seems that Mr. Klitschko, holding two key posts in the city hierarchy, simply does not understand that he, as head of the Kyiv City State Administration, is responsible for managing the city's territory. As a representative of the executive branch. Therefore, his attempt to blame someone else and stage a banal hype is, to put it mildly, surprising. Neither a drift under St. Sophia's Cathedral nor the installation of any objects for filming on Heavenly Hundred Heroes Alley can be a surprise for the city's executive authorities.

National Corps tears down the decorations

In the end, the scandalous decorations did not stand for long. The first to take on the demolition were not city landscaping workers, but activists of the National Corps party.

Clashes with police also occurred during the demolition. Reinforcements pushed the protesters back before the official dismantling of the installations. Eight participants in the rally were also detained.

In total, National Corps representatives managed to tear down two decorations, after which utility workers arriving on the scene continued the work.