KHARKIV – The eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv is an astounding getaway for people looking for an industrial city atmosphere with a great Soviet aftertaste.
Founded some 350 years ago, Kharkiv is now home to 1.5 million people and is the second largest city in Ukraine.
It served as the nation’s capital between 1919 and 1934 and now prepares to be one of the four Ukrainian cities to host the European Football Championship in 2012.
New roads, international chain hotels and a renovated airport aside, the city still relishes its Soviet architecture and Lenin’s statues.
To make all these landmarks accessible, the city needs more than a city map in English, thinks Tommaso Giani, an Italian football fan, who’s been to this eastern city a couple of times already.
“Kharkiv impress with the width of its avenues and the hugeness of buildings,” he said. “It is much less frequented by westerners than Kyiv. There is no tourist office in the downtown but people are not ill-mannered at all if you ask for help.”
There are also no English-language street signs in the city so one has to be ready for a Cyrillic adventure. The best way to get to Kharkiv is taking an express train from Kyiv at 6:30 a.m. It runs daily.
In six hours, the train pulls up by an impressive Stalinist-style station with two clock towers that reminds of an opera house rather than a travelling hub.
“Kharkiv is like a gold mine,” says Kharkiv philologist Ihor Orzhytsky. “It’s a city with a great combination of Soviet constructivism and 19th century urban architecture. It needs only a bit of fresh make-up [to shine again].”
The major architectural breakthrough occurred when the city was declared the capital of Ukrainian Socialist Republic. Rising up to 13 floors, Derzhprom, or State Industry, building was the first Soviet skyscraper built in 1928.
A monstrous concrete office to some, it was rated as a prime example of Constructivism.
Housing more than 30 industrial companies, it was considered very functional thanks to a system of overhead walkways.
Kharkiv was the capital of Ukraine for 15 years. It impresses with wide avenues, robust houses, Lenin statues.
Renowned Russian writer Maxim Gorky called Derzhprom building “a marvelous harmony expressing spirit of the working class people.”
In front of Derzhprom, the statue of Lenin on a red-granite pedestal stands in the middle of the 750-meter long Freedom Square, considered one of the largest in Europe.
One of his arms motions to take a look at the former Communist headquarters, now Kharkiv Oblast Administration.
Built in the late 1930s, it celebrates Stalin with a 14-column facade, large curtained windows and elaborate stone flags crowning the roof.
Compared to this political stronghold, Kharkiv’s opera house looks like the KGB headquarters.
A windowless, postmodern building is shaped as an inverted pyramid. Its construction lasted for more than 20 years and was finished in 1991.
Its big hall can fit 1,500 viewers who come here to see classical productions of Pyotr Tchaikovsky and Giacomo Puccini. A nice valley at the back of the opera house is often used by modern art and movie festivals.
One more Soviet relic adorns Taras Shevchenko Garden: A small statue of young Lenin sits next to a children’s playground.
Wearing green trousers and floppy hair, the great Soviet leader looks no older than 10 but already holding a book.
Ticking the Soviet memorabilia off the travel list, head to the Lopan River pier.
There’s a new park and a renovated bridge spanning over the river – both are already popular with newlyweds taking photos and hanging love padlocks on the new railing.
Don’t miss a graffiti artist’s take on Marc Chagall’s painting “Over the City” on one of the industrial houses by the river.
To go back to the train station, use the metro. It is not much different from the subway in Kyiv, if one discounts the stations’ names: Soviet, Proletarian, Soviet Army and Heroes of Labor.
The football fans would most likely need to get their Soviet bearings, so city authorities should bother to translate the names into English.
Kyiv Post Staff Writer Oksana Faryna can be reached at [email protected].
