Ukrainian Government Building (, romanized: ''Budynok Uriadu'') is located in the center of
Kyiv
Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
on Hrushevsky Street in the vicinity of
Verkhovna Rada building
The Verkhovna Rada building () is located in the center of Kyiv, in the Pecherskyi District. The building is located at the Constitution Square.
It is the place where the Ukrainian parliament (Verkhovna Rada) meets for all regular and ceremonial ...
. It serves as the administrative building for the
Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (), commonly referred to as the Government of Ukraine (), is the highest body of state Executive (government), executive power in Ukraine. As the Cabinet of Ministers of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republi ...
. From 1941 to 1954 the building was the tallest building in the city.
Description
The structure was built in 1936-1938 based on design of architect
and partially — architect Pavel Abrosimov.
[''Мойсеєнко В.'' Будинок Ради Народних Комісарів УРСР, 1936—38 // Звід пам'яток історії та культури України: Енцикл. вид.: У 28 т. / Редкол.: В. А. Смолій (голова) та ін. — К. : Голов. ред. Зводу пам'яток історії та культури при вид-ві «Українська Енциклопедія» ім. М. П. Бажана, 1999. — Кн. 1. — Ч. 1. — Київ. — А — Л. — С. 336.] The main half-circled facade of the building is opened towards Hrushevskyi Street. It is equally partitioned by tall columns of
Corinthian order
The Corinthian order (, ''Korinthiakós rythmós''; ) is the last developed and most ornate of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Ancient Roman architecture, Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric or ...
,
capital
Capital and its variations may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital
** List of national capitals
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter
Econom ...
s and bases of which are tall and made out of
cast iron
Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...
. The lower stories of the building are faced with big uncut blocks of a
Tulchyn
Tulchyn (, ; ; ; ; ; ) is a city in Vinnytsia Oblast (Oblast, province) of western Ukraine, in the historical region of Podolia. It is the Capital city, administrative center of Tulchyn Raion (Raion, district). Its population is 13,896 (2023 estim ...
labradorite
Labradorite (( Ca, Na)( Al, Si)4 O8) is a calcium-enriched feldspar mineral first identified in Labrador, Canada, which can display an iridescent effect ( schiller).
Labradorite is an intermediate to calcic member of the plagioclase series. It ...
, while
socle and
portal
Portal may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Gaming
* ''Portal'' (series), a series of video games developed by Valve
** ''Portal'' (video game), a 2007 video game, the first in the series
** '' Portal 2'', the 2011 sequel
** '' Portal Stori ...
s with a polished
granite
Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...
. Alloy metal flagpoles and decorated gates were made in 1947.
Current location
The building was first designed on the demand of the
People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) secre ...
(NKVD), while the government was supposed to be located in the building that today is occupied by the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (, ) is the ministry of the Ukrainian government that oversees the foreign relations of Ukraine. The head of the ministry is the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
History
Originally, the ministry was estab ...
at Mykhailiv Square. However, construction plans were changed and refused for the building to be located in "High City" district (see
Old Kyiv
Old Kyiv (, ) is a historical neighborhood of Kyiv. Other names include Upper City, Old Town, and others. It is located at the far eastern portion of the Shevchenko Raion, Kyiv , Shevchenkivskyi District. Old Kyiv historically represents the ci ...
). Decision to change location has been made because the Government Building together with
National Bank of Ukraine
The National Bank of Ukraine ( ; NBU []) is the central bank of Ukraine. Created in 1991 from the Ukrainian operations of the Soviet Gosbank, the NBU employs over 12,000 people, making it one of the largest employers in the financial sector in ...
and Cabinet of Ministers Club headquarters compose a shared court with access to Anti-Air Defense safety bunker. Rumors also mention that use of the tunnels may lead to from the
Verkhovna Rada
The Verkhovna Rada ( ; VR), officially the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, is the unicameralism, unicameral parliament of Ukraine. It consists of 450 Deputy (legislator), deputies presided over by a speaker. The Verkhovna Rada meets in the Verkhovn ...
building and the building of President's Secretariat. Therefore, all these institutions compactly moved to
Lypky
Lypky () is an historic neighborhood of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv located in the administrative Pecherskyi District. The name is derived from a lime tree (Lypa). Lypky is the ''de facto'' government quarter of Ukraine hosting the buildings of th ...
district not accidentally.
Previous locations
*
Derzhprom Complex
* Kharkiv Arts Museum
References
External links
*
Kyiv. The encyclopedic handbook.* {{in lang, uk}
Official website of the government of Ukraine
Buildings and structures in Kyiv
Government buildings in Ukraine
Government buildings completed in 1938
Pecherskyi District
Hrushevsky Street (Kyiv)
Secretariat of Cabinet of Ministers (Ukraine)