Opening of the restored monument to Princess Olga

25 August 1996, Kyiv.

The video shows the unveiling of the restored monument to Princess Olga on St Michael’s Square. A ceremonial gathering takes place; the national anthem is played; His Eminence, the Archbishop of the Christian churches, blesses and consecrates the monument; flowers are laid. Speeches: First Deputy Head of the Kyiv City State Administration Oleksandr Omelchenko; Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Oleksandr Moroz. Among those present: poet Ivan Drach; academician Petro Tronko; Minister of Culture Dmytro Ostapenko; Mayor of Minsk Volodymyr Yermoshyn.

Background: the monument recreates the 1911 composition created by the outstanding Ukrainian sculptor Ivan Kavaleridze, which includes figures of Princess Olga, the Apostle Andrew the First-Called, and the enlighteners Cyril and Methodius. The monument was dismantled between 1919 and 1923.
During the restoration, archive materials and partially preserved fragments of the original monument were used; the modern version was created by Ukrainian sculptors in the 1990s.