Peoples' Friendship Arch in Kyiv renamed Arch of Freedom of the Ukrainian People 

Kyiv city officials have decided to rename the Peoples’ Friendship Arch, which symbolised the unity of Ukraine and Russia. It is now called the Arch of Freedom of the Ukrainian People, Kyiv city mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

The Kyiv lawmakers have compiled a list of over 40 monuments and memorial signs in the Ukrainian capital that will be handed over to the museum of totalitarianism.

“Today, there is a demand within the Ukrainian society to remove Russia-related names from the Kyiv map. However, the new names must live on for dozens and even hundreds of years. So the renaming process should be swift, but reasonable,” Klitschko stated.

In late April, the Kyiv mayor announced that part of the monument symbolising the unity of Ukraine and Russia would be taken down. “We will take down eight metres of metal from the so-called “peoples’ friendship” monument in central Kyiv,” he said.

It was decided to remove the two figures of workers, one Ukrainian and one Russian, holding the Soviet peoples’ friendship flag, and the group sculpture made from red granite. A titanium arch in the shape of the rainbow will not be removed.

The Peoples’ Friendship Arch was erected in the Khreschatyi Park on the right bank of the Dnieper River in 1982, marking the 60th anniversary of the USSR. Local officials began to discuss the demolition of the monument after 2014, during decommunisation. However, two years later, the Kyiv government decided against it due to the high cost of demolition works.