1961 Mystetstvo Plan of Kyiv, Ukraine (Ukrainian SSR)

This is a charming and extremely rare c. 1961 Ukrainian-language map of Kyiv, then capital of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. It exhibits the city's revival after the horrors of the Second World War (1939 - 1945), when Kyiv was almost completely destroyed, and its postwar boom, driven by Cold War defense industries.

A Closer Look

The map is oriented towards the northeast, with the Dnipro River at top. Illustrations and accompanying numbers correspond to an extensive legend at bottom. Cultural and academic institutions are highlighted, including museums, universities, research institutions, monuments, the opera house, cinemas, parks, the circus, the zoo, and the botanical gardens. The higher numbers in the legend generally refer to more practical concerns, such as hotels, post offices, metro stations, the main train station, and the bus station, as well as the Palace of Sports and the beach on the opposite bank of the Dnipro.

The grand churches and cathedrals of Kyiv barely make an appearance. St. Andrew's Cathedral is denoted (number 17) but for much of the Soviet period it housed a 'Museum of Anti-Religion' and only held church services periodically. Although generally much less repressive than Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev detested religion and was disturbed by a religious revival in the 1950s., and the U.S.S.R. was in the throes of a nationwide anti-religious campaign at the time this map was made. Other cathedrals had been demolished by the Soviets in the Stalin era (St. Michael's) or during the war (Kyiv Pechersk Lavra), or were secularized, as with Saint Sophia Cathedral, which was turned into an architectural and historical museum (number 15).

Kyiv's Postwar Rebirth

Following an intense battle in late August and September 1941 that led to massive losses on the Soviet side, Kyiv was occupied by the Nazis on September 19. In addition to destruction suffered during the battle, the Soviets planted thousands of remote-controlled mines which they exploded after retreating, killing a thousand German troops along with an unknown number of civilians, destroying much of the city, and causing fires that burned for days. Two years of Nazi occupation were no kinder to the residents of Kyiv, as the occupiers deliberately limited food supplies to the city and committed heinous atrocities, including the Babyn Yar massacres.

After the war, the city rebuilt quickly, aided by massive investments in defense-related industries like aerospace and electronics. Scientific institutes and military academies helped to expand the city's population and necessitated the construction of a metro system (only the third in the Soviet Union, after Moscow and Leningrad), additional bridges across the Dnipro River, and the Boryspil Airport. Although the present map is in Ukrainian, the 1970s saw renewed efforts at Russification and discouragement of expressions of Ukrainian identity, including the Ukrainian language.

Publication History and Census

This map was published by the 'Mystetstvo' ('Art') State Publishing House (Державне видавництво 'Мистецтво'). Although undated, it must date to between 1960-1963, as it has the original 5 station metro line without the extension which opened additional stations, including at Politekhnichnyi Instytut (near the Zoo). The artist for the map is listed as Y.F. Kovbasa (Я. Ф. Ковбаса), the cover artist as M.M. Dimchenka (M. M. Демченка), the editor as V.I. Kosmyuk (В. І. Космюк), the art editor as O.P. Kuzmenko (О. П. Кузьменко), and the technical editor as O.M. Lumik (О. М. Люмік). This map has no known existence in any institutional holdings nor known history on the market.