Ukraine's leading English-language newspaper since 1995

What do you think of Andriyivsky Uzviz reconstruction? Do think it will change the tourist street for the better?






Nadiya Pozhe­tonova,
assistant

“All this reconstruction bothers me a bit. I work not far from here and it just looks ugly. Of course, if everything is done well, it will look better than before. What would be really good is if they ban traffic here.”






Michael Gott,
English teacher

“I’ve seen the street many times before and I think that this is probably is being done for Euro 2012 [soccer championships] to make it nicer. This is one of the most important streets in all of Kyiv and if this is done correctly it will be fantastic, if it is not done correctly it will be very disappointing. We want to see Kyiv restored to its original condition. We want to see everything historically accurate and we are hoping that when this is finished it will make Kyiv a very special place for people to come.”




Iryna Gayur,
director

“I hope that they will reconstruct it to the original form, but not rebuild to look like something else. We all know that reconstruction in our country usually ends when most buildings are sold and end up looking very different from what they used to be – as architectural monuments.”





Ganna Paskevska,
pensioner

“I’ve been living in Kyiv for 68 years and I know this street as a beautiful one. Now it’s terrible! And just imagine what it will be like if they build a shopping mall here instead of the artists’ workshops. I only hope they will leave the cobblestones here. They promised.”







Oleksiy Kudry­avtsev,
constructor

“Recon­struction itself is not bad and when it ends it will be even better. If you don't start, you can never repair anything. I just hope the state has enough money to finish it and they know what they are doing.”