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.

  • The Maidan after the assault — 20142014 The Maidan after the assault — TodayToday
    Maidan NezalezhnostiThe Maidan after the assault21 February 2014: the Maidan after the bloodshed of 18–20 February — torn-up paving, burnt tyres and the gutted Trade Unions Building. The next day Yanukovych fled Kyiv; the protesters killed are remembered as the Heavenly Hundred. The Trade Unions Building was later restored; the "now" photo was taken at the parade for the 30th anniversary of independence on 24 August 2021.Archival photo: Kiyanka, 2014, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
    Modern photo: Офіс Президента України, 2021, CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
  • The Trade Unions Building after the fire — Today The Trade Unions Building after the fire — 2014 2014Today
    2 Maidan NezalezhnostiThe Trade Unions Building after the fireThe Trade Unions Building in June 2014, after the fire of the night of 18–19 February, when it housed the Maidan headquarters. The building has been restored, and its rooftop clock and display are lit again.Archival photo: A1, 2014, CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
    Modern photo: Marcuspn, 2024, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
  • People's Friendship Arch — Today People's Friendship Arch — 2019 2019Today
    Khreshchatyi ParkPeople's Friendship ArchOctober 2019: the 1982 titanium arch with its bronze figures of two workers symbolising the "reunification" of Ukraine with Russia, and a black "crack" painted at the top. The sculpture was dismantled on 26 April 2022; on 14 May the city council renamed the monument the Arch of Freedom of the Ukrainian People, and in 2024 work began on removing the granite Pereiaslav Council group as well. The "now" photo dates from November 2025.Archival photo: Canercangul, 2019, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
    Modern photo: Venzz, 2025, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
  • Missile strike on a high-rise — 20222022 Missile strike on a high-rise — TodayToday
    6-A Valeriia Lobanovskoho AvenueMissile strike on a high-rise26 February 2022: State Emergency Service rescuers at the apartment tower at 6-A Valeriia Lobanovskoho Avenue after it was hit by a Russian missile; 80 residents were evacuated. The damaged floors were rebuilt within months, and residents began moving back in late 2022. The "now" photo dates from early 2023.Archival photo: ДСНС України, 2022, CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
    Modern photo: The Village Україна, 2023 · village.com.ua
  • Samson Fountain protected — 20222022 Samson Fountain protected — TodayToday
    Kontraktova Square, PodilSamson Fountain protected25 March 2022: the statue inside the Samson Fountain on Kontraktova Square is packed with sandbags, while the rotunda, recreated in 1982 after the 18th-century original, remains visible. The "now" photo, from June 2026, shows the sandbags gone and Samson uncovered again under the rotunda.Archival photo: КМДА, Олексій Самсонов, 2022, CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
    Modern photo: Liliia2022, 2026, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
  • Wrecked tanks on Mykhailivska Square — 20222022 Wrecked tanks on Mykhailivska Square — TodayToday
    Mykhailivska SquareWrecked tanks on Mykhailivska SquareJuly 2022: an exhibition of destroyed Russian armour, captured during the defence of the Kyiv region, on Mykhailivska Square, next to the sandbagged monument to Princess Olha. The "now" photo, from July 2025, shows the monument to Olha, St Andrew and Cyril and Methodius uncovered, while the armour exhibition continues on the square.Archival photo: Ввласенко, 2022, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
    Modern photo: Xsandriel, 2025, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
  • A crater in the city centre — Today A crater in the city centre — 2022 2022Today
    Volodymyrska Street at Taras Shevchenko BoulevardA crater in the city centreOn 10 October 2022 a morning missile strike left a crater at the junction of Volodymyrska Street and Shevchenko Boulevard. City crews filled and resurfaced it the very next day; the "now" photo was taken on 11 October.Archival photo: Національна поліція України, 2022, CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
    Modern photo: КМДА, 2022, CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
  • The Shchors monument — 20232023 The Shchors monument — TodayToday
    Taras Shevchenko Boulevard at Symona Petliury StreetThe Shchors monumentThe morning of 9 December 2023: the equestrian monument to the Red commander Mykola Shchors on Taras Shevchenko Boulevard, its plinth sprayed with "Tear me down, Cabinet". The government had removed it from the State Register of Immovable Monuments in November, and that day city workers dismantled the statue and handed it to the State Aviation Museum for storage. The "now" photo was taken the same day: an empty plinth where the rider stood.Archival photo: КМДА, 2023, CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
    Modern photo: КМДА, 2023, CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

From the archive

  • Barricade on Hrushevskoho Street, 2014 2014
    Mykhaila Hrushevskoho StreetBarricade on Hrushevskoho Street26 January 2014: a charred barricade of tyres and snow on Hrushevskoho Street by the Dynamo stadium, scene of clashes between protesters and police since 19 January.Archival photo: Sasha Maksymenko, 2014, CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
  • Eurovision in Kyiv, 2017 2017
    International Exhibition Centre, 15 Brovarskyi AvenueEurovision in KyivO.Torvald perform "Time" at Eurovision 2017 in the International Exhibition Centre. Kyiv hosted the contest for the second time, after Jamala’s victory in 2016.Archival photo: Mykola Swarnyk, 2017, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
  • Opening of the glass bridge, 2019 2019
    Pedestrian bridge, Khreshchatyi ParkOpening of the glass bridgeOn 25 May 2019 crowds filled the new pedestrian and cycle bridge linking Volodymyrska Hill and Khreshchatyi Park over Volodymyrskyi Uzviz, nicknamed the "glass bridge" for its glass floor panels.Archival photo: Володимир Чеппель, 2019, CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
  • Quarantine 2020, 2020 2020
    KyivQuarantine 2020April 2020: Kyiv residents in masks during the strict COVID-19 lockdown. The metro was shut for two months, and buses and trams carried only passengers with special passes.Archival photo: A1, 2020, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
  • Parade for 30 years of independence, 2021 2021
    KhreshchatykParade for 30 years of independence24 August 2021: a giant national flag unfurled on Khreshchatyk during the parade for the 30th anniversary of independence, the last parade before the full-scale invasion.Archival photo: Офіс Президента України, 2021, CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
  • The metro as a shelter, 2022 2022
    Zhytomyrska metro stationThe metro as a shelter26 February 2022, the third day of the full-scale invasion: people spend the night at Zhytomyrska station. In the first weeks of the war the metro sheltered tens of thousands.Archival photo: Mr.Rosewater, 2022, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
  • Khmelnytsky under wraps, 2022 2022
    Sofiiska SquareKhmelnytsky under wrapsMarch 2022: the Bohdan Khmelnytsky monument on Sofiiska Square is boxed in with scaffolding and sandbags against blast waves, as dozens of Kyiv monuments were.Archival photo: КМДА, Олексій Самсонов, 2022, CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
  • Blackout, 2022 2022
    Velyka Vasylkivska StreetBlackout25 November 2022: Velyka Vasylkivska Street with no streetlights or lit windows after massive Russian strikes on the power grid. Kyiv got through that winter with generators, power banks and "invincibility points".Archival photo: Bektour, 2022, CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

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