The Metrohrad () is an extensive underground

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...

Bessarabska Square The Bessarabska Square ( uk, Бессарабська площа, ''Bessarabs'ka ploscha'') is a square located at the southwest end of Khreshchatyk, the main thoroughfare of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. It is located in the city's Shevchenkivs ...

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Kyi ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

Overview

The underground mall is located in the central part of

and stretches from the Lva Tolstoho Square to the

along the Velyka Vasylkivska Street. It has two levels and an area of 20,000 sq meters. It is also being used as an underpass and has exits to Lva Tolstoho metro station, Velyka Vasylkivska Street, Tarasa Shevchenka Boulevard, Bessarabsky Market and Baseina Street The mall is divided on seven quarters by function: * New quarter * Children goods quarter * Service quarter * Home goods quarter * Central quarter * Restaurant and entertainment quarter * Fountains quarter

History

Metrohrad Shopping Mall was built in one year in 2001, soon after the reconstruction of

Khreshchatyk Khreshchatyk ( uk, Хрещатик, ) is the main street of Kyiv, Ukraine. The street has a length of . It stretches from the European Square (northeast) through the Maidan and to Bessarabska Square (southwest) where the Besarabsky Market ...

. Nearby there was a construction of the similar shopping mall called

Globus Globus is Latin for ''sphere'' or ''globe''. It may also refer to: Business * Globus Medical, a medical device company in Audubon, PA * Globus (clothing retailer), an Indian clothing retail store * Globus (company), a Swiss department store c ...

Maidan Nezalezhnosti Maidan Nezalezhnosti ( uk, Майдан Незалежності , literally "Independence Square") is the central square of Kyiv, the capital city of Ukraine. One of the city's main squares, it is located on Khreshchatyk Street in the Shevchen ...

. Allegedly both of the project were approved to disrupt the anti-government protests in the center of

. In 2017 the mall had undergone the reconstruction of several quarters, some exits were closed during the work making it harder to pass the street as there were no options other than the underpass. During

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. ...

Kyiv courts began to arrest the Russian business in the city, Metrohrad had been arrested as well because one of its owners was VS Energy, the company of Russian politician

Alexander Babakov Alexander Mikhailovich Babakov (russian: Александр Михайлович Бабаков; 8 February 1963) is a Russian politician and member of the State Duma, the Russian parliament. He was appointed Special Presidential Representative ...

who was under sanctions since 2014.

References

External links

Official website
Shopping malls in Kyiv Shopping malls established in 2001 Semi-subterranean structures {{Ukraine-struct-stub