History of the Kyiv Metro System

Carrying well over a million passengers per day across 52 stations, Kyiv’s metro system is an integral part of the city’s daily life. While it has developed with the ever-growing city, like much of Ukraine’s public infrastructure, the metro system has struggled to keep up with the demands made of it. These demands are growing […]

Kyiv’s People’s Friendship Arch Complex: History and Protest in a Public Space

The People’s Friendship Arch is one of Kyiv’s most iconic and controversial landmarks. The rainbow-shaped arch perches on a hill overlooking the Dnieper River and large parts of Kyiv. “Gifted” to Ukrainian SSR by the Soviet government in Moscow, it remains heavily associated with the USSR, and although it remains a tourist destination and local […]

Indie Zoloti Vorota in Kyiv

The backstreets of Zoloti Vorota are perhaps the most taken-for-granted locale in Kyiv. The area is most known for its bustling major streets, fed by its central location and, of course, Zoloti Vorota, once part of Kyiv’s 11th century fortifications and now a major tourist attraction. However, step into its quieter backroads, and you will […]

Guide to Kyiv’s Top Museums

Kyiv is one of Eastern Europe’s oldest and biggest cities. It is where Christianity first became an official part of Slavic culture and it was the first great Slavic capital. Although the city has continued to lay claim to great achievements in history, art, science, and literature, it has for many centuries sat in Moscow’s […]

Saint Michael’s Vydubychi Monastery in Kyiv, Ukraine

On most weekends, I’m guilty of sleeping in late and lounging around my host family’s apartment until the afternoon. My host mom, who serves me mouthwatering meals every day, typically lets me sleep in until 11am before she calls me into the kitchen for breakfast. However, there was one Saturday morning in particular when she […]

Podil District in Kyiv

Podil: Persons, places, and things from my favorite district in Kyiv Free and always open Month of April, 2017 Photojournalism by Rebekah Welch Podil, podil, podil. If you ever go to Kyiv, all the Ukrainians you meet will tell you that you have to go to Podil. Once, a particularly pompous Russian professor even went […]

Andrievskii Descent in Kyiv

Andrievskii Descent at Sunset  A Walk through one of my favorite stretches of Kyiv Free and always open  Month of March, 2017 Photojournalism by Rebekah Welch There are many persons, places, and things I love about Kyiv, but undoubtedly, there is one place pretty much everyone agrees is one of the most breathtakingly beautiful spots […]

Tarasa Shevchenko Park

Not unlike in any northern city that spends its winters under cloud cover, devoid of blue skies, sunlight, and Vitamin D for several months, the Spring in Kyiv is a magical time. People emerge from their homes, offices, and the cafe-bars where they’ve been hiding in mass numbers, desperate to soak in the precious rays […]

The Thaw: Springtime in Kyiv

Delightfully for a girl from Montana, used to equally cold, dreary winters, the early days of March have been blessed with (as every Ukrainian that I know has insisted) unusually warm temperatures, sunshine, and a lot of snowmelt. From Kyiv’s plentiful mini parks, to streets, to porches,  it seems everyone in the city is basking […]

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