Archive · then and now

Photo memories

Kyiv in photographs — from the Chain Bridge and horse trams to Euromaidan and the city that held out in 2022. For many of them we found a modern photo taken from the same spot: drag the slider to compare.

Then and now

Drag the divider to compare the old and new photo.

  • Removing Lenin from the square — 19911991 Removing Lenin from the square — TodayToday
    Maidan NezalezhnostiRemoving Lenin from the squareEarly September 1991: the Lenin statue on October Revolution Square is fenced off, with signs announcing the city executive committee’s decision to dismantle it. The square soon became Maidan Nezalezhnosti. The "now" photo, from 10 May 2025, shows the column of the Independence Monument (2001) rising over the square, with the same hotel, now the Hotel Ukraine, behind.Archival photo: М. Яковенко, В. Білецький, 1991, суспільне надбання · Wikimedia Commons
    Modern photo: Simon Dawson, 2025, CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
  • Bessarabskyi Market — Today Bessarabskyi Market — 1990s 1990sToday
    2 Bessarabska SquareBessarabskyi MarketBessarabskyi Market (1910–1912, architect Henryk Gay) in the 1990s, when the square in front also served as an informal trading spot. The market still operates.Archival photo: М. Яковенко, В. Білецький, 1990-ті, суспільне надбання · Wikimedia Commons
    Modern photo: Максим Козленко, 2017, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
  • Podil from the Dnipro — Today Podil from the Dnipro — 1998 1998Today
    Poshtova Square, River StationPodil from the DniproThe River Station and cruise ships at Podil on 19 July 1998, "still without modern high-rises", as the author put it, below the green slopes of Volodymyrska Hill.Archival photo: khrul, 1998, CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
    Modern photo: Віктор Полянко, 2024, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
  • St Andrew's Church — Today St Andrew's Church — 1998 1998Today
    23 Andriivskyi UzvizSt Andrew's ChurchSt Andrew's Church (1747–1762, Bartolomeo Rastrelli) above the rooftops of Podil on 15 July 1998. It has since been restored and in 2018 was handed over to the Ecumenical Patriarchate.Archival photo: khrul, 1998, CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
    Modern photo: Віктор Полянко, 2024, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
  • Opening of St Michael's bell tower — 19991999 Opening of St Michael's bell tower — TodayToday
    Central KyivOpening of St Michael's bell tower30 May 1999: a costumed procession celebrating the opening of the rebuilt bell tower of St Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery, destroyed in the 1930s. Behind is the bell tower of St Sophia's Cathedral, seen from Mykhailivska Square. The "now" photo, from June 2025, shows the same view, with an exhibition of destroyed Russian armour on the square.Archival photo: Микола Чурпіта, 1999, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
    Modern photo: Lklundin, 2025, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

From the archive

  • October Revolution Square, 1991, 1991 1991
    Maidan Nezalezhnosti, seen from Hotel UkraineOctober Revolution Square, 1991September 1991: October Revolution Square seen from the Hotel Moskva. The Lenin monument still stands in the foreground; it was removed the same year, and the square was renamed Maidan Nezalezhnosti.Archival photo: Gouveia2, 1991, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
  • The blue-and-yellow flag over Khreshchatyk, 1990 1990
    36 Khreshchatyk, Kyiv City CouncilThe blue-and-yellow flag over KhreshchatykOn 24 July 1990 the blue-and-yellow flag was officially raised for the first time outside Kyiv City Council on Khreshchatyk. Crowds filled the street; a year later Ukraine was independent.Archival photo: невідомий автор, 1990, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
  • Rally for independence, 1991 1991
    Maidan NezalezhnostiRally for independenceSeptember 1991: a rally for independence on the square, with miners’ helmets and a "Donbas" banner among the flags. Independence was confirmed by the referendum of 1 December 1991.Archival photo: М. Яковенко, В. Білецький, 1991, суспільне надбання · Wikimedia Commons
  • Maidan in the first year of independence, 1992 1992
    Maidan NezalezhnostiMaidan in the first year of independenceMaidan Nezalezhnosti in 1992, empty where the monument had stood, with the Trade Unions Building on the right. The square took its present form, with the column and underground mall, in 2001.Archival photo: Lankyrider, 1992, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
  • High-rise blocks, 1992 1992
    KyivHigh-rise blocksNew high-rise blocks seen from a hotel window by a foreign visitor in 1992. Kyiv built huge panel-housing estates until the late 1980s; in the 1990s construction nearly stopped.Archival photo: Lankyrider, 1992, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

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