Verkhovna Rada building
Encyclopedia
 The Verkhovna Rada building ----  Front facade ---- Gate still echoes the Soviet epoch ----  The juxtaposition of the glass-domed neo-classical Neoclassical architecture Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing... Verkhovna Rada building and the late Baroque Baroque architecture Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and... Mariyinsky Palace Mariyinsky Palace Mariyinsky Palace is an official ceremonial residence of the President of Ukraine in Kiev and adjoins the neo-classical building of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine... is shown in this aerial view. Mariyinsky Park, Lobanovs'kyi Dynamo Stadium and the Dnieper River Dnieper River The Dnieper River is one of the major rivers of Europe that flows from Russia, through Belarus and Ukraine, to the Black Sea.The total length is and has a drainage basin of .The river is noted for its dams and hydroelectric stations... are in the background. ---- The main session hall of the Verkhovna Rada Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is Ukraine's parliament. The Verkhovna Rada is a unicameral parliament composed of 450 deputies, which is presided over by a chairman... . |
The Verkhovna Rada building is located in the center of the capital city of Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, in the Pechersk Raion. It is the place where the Ukrainian parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
(Verkhovna Rada
Verkhovna Rada
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is Ukraine's parliament. The Verkhovna Rada is a unicameral parliament composed of 450 deputies, which is presided over by a chairman...
) meets for all regular and ceremonial sessions. The building was erected between 1936–38 to a design by Volodymyr Zabolotny (Vladimir Zabolotny) in the neo-classical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
Ukrainian architectural style of the Stalin era
Stalinist architecture
Stalinist architecture , also referred to as Stalinist Gothic, or Socialist Classicism, is a term given to architecture of the Soviet Union between 1933, when Boris Iofan's draft for Palace of the Soviets was officially approved, and 1955, when Nikita Khrushchev condemned "excesses" of the past...
. Zabolotny was awarded the State Prize of Soviet Union for that project in 1940 and appointed the chief architect of the city.
History
At the beginning of 1934, after the capital was transferred from KharkivKharkiv
Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...
to Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, many new construction projects began for the reconstruction of the new capital. Many prominent administrative buildings to house the government institutions of the Soviet Republic
Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic or in short, the Ukrainian SSR was a sovereign Soviet Socialist state and one of the fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union lasting from its inception in 1922 to the breakup in 1991...
were planned to be erected in downtown Kiev, including the building of the government and the building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The very heart of the city was chosen for that purpose – the Pechersk Raion which lies on the right bank of Dnieper river.
In February 1936, a concurs for the best building design of the Verkhovna Rada
Verkhovna Rada
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is Ukraine's parliament. The Verkhovna Rada is a unicameral parliament composed of 450 deputies, which is presided over by a chairman...
was announced, to which were invited numerous prominent specialists, including Volodymyr Zabolotny, Valerian Rykov, and Yakiv Steinberg. The jury selected the design of Zabolotny. The construction was initiated in 1936 and lasted to 1939 with the final inspection taking place in the beginning of the summer of 1939, which passed the building with the grade of excellent. The first session of the Verkhovna Rada took place at 5 Hrushevsky Street on 25 July 1939.
Main features
The building is designed in the strict rectangular-symmetrical form and is three stories high. It is crowned with a dome, made of metal and glass, providing the building with natural lighting. The hundred-tonne glass domeDome
A dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
over the main session hall is the building's most memorable feature. The red-and-blue Flag of Soviet Ukraine
Flag of Ukrainian SSR
The flag of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was adopted on March 10, 1919, to serve as the symbol of state of the Ukrainian SSR. Details of the official flag changed periodically before the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991, but all were based on the red flag of the Bolshevik...
was flown on top of the dome for over 50 years, until it was replaced by the yellow-and-blue national
National flag
A national flag is a flag that symbolizes a country. The flag is flown by the government, but usually can also be flown by citizens of the country.Both public and private buildings such as schools and courthouses may fly the national flag...
Flag of Ukraine
Flag of Ukraine
The flag of Ukraine is the national flag of Ukraine. The national flag was officially adopted for the first time in 1918 by a short-lived Ukrainian People's Republic. At that time the commonly used yellow–blue flag had already turned into blue and yellow and sported a trident in the upper left...
, following Ukraine's attainment of independence in 1991.
The dome's multicolored illumination at night provides a memorable view, one of Kiev's tourist attractions. The diameter of the plafond
Plafond
Plafond , in a broad sense, is any ceiling of any premise.Plafond can be product of monumental and decorative painting and sculpture; subject or ornamental – also is designated by the term "Plafond"...
is 16 meters. In the center is located a crystal chandelier
Chandelier
A chandelier is a branched decorative ceiling-mounted light fixture with two or more arms bearing lights. Chandeliers are often ornate, containing dozens of lamps and complex arrays of glass or crystal prisms to illuminate a room with refracted light...
that, by its form, resembles a sunflower
Sunflower
Sunflower is an annual plant native to the Americas. It possesses a large inflorescence . The sunflower got its name from its huge, fiery blooms, whose shape and image is often used to depict the sun. The sunflower has a rough, hairy stem, broad, coarsely toothed, rough leaves and circular heads...
, a motif frequently featured in the Ukrainian folk arts. Based on those motifs, the illuminating plafond of the hall was installed with colored glass. The interior of the building is generously decorated with intricate wood panels, multicolored marble, bronze artwork, and a statuary. The flat rooftop of the modern structure adds harmony to its composition. The front of the building was decorated with ornaments and statues featuring Soviet symbolism, with the Coat of Arms of the Ukrainian SSR
Coat of arms of the Ukrainian SSR
The coat of arms of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was adopted on March 14, 1919 by the government of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and subsequently modified on November 7, 1928, January 30, 1937 and November 21, 1949...
in the center. Following Ukrainian independence, some of the decorations were altered and some replaced, to reflect the national symbolism of independent Ukraine. Currently, the stylized trident
Trident
A trident , also called a trishul or leister or gig, is a three-pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and was also a military weapon. Tridents are featured widely in mythical, historical and modern culture. The major Hindu god, Shiva the Destroyer and the sea god Poseidon or Neptune are...
, the centerpiece of the modern Coat of Arms of Ukraine
Coat of arms of Ukraine
The state coat of arms of Ukraine or commonly the Tryzub is the national coat of arms of Ukraine, featuring the same colors found on the Ukrainian flag; a blue shield with yellow trident, called the tryzub...
, is featured above the front entrance to the building.
Post WWII
Having been destroyed in the Second World WarEastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
, the building was reconstructed in its original style in 1945-1947, with the reconstruction design provided by Zabolotny, once again. The glass dome was rebuilt one meter higher than the original one. Although it is adjacent to Rastrelli's Baroque
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
Mariyinsky Palace
Mariyinsky Palace
Mariyinsky Palace is an official ceremonial residence of the President of Ukraine in Kiev and adjoins the neo-classical building of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine...
(1752), the architect of the more monumental and imposing Rada building managed to avoid disharmony from the juxtaposition of such contrasting architectural styles. To the main building was added an adjacent three-story high building for servicemen that is designed in a closed half-circle shape with an inner court.
During the restoration works conducted in 1985 under the leadership of N.Chmutova, four sculptural groups (sculptor Valentyn Znoba) were installed in front of the risalit
Risalit
A risalit, from the Italian risalto for "projection", is a German term which refers to a part of a building that juts out, usually over the full height of the building. In English the French term avant-corps is sometimes used. It is common in façades in the baroque period.A corner risalit is where...
s of the central entrance as intended by Zabolotny's design. The sculptures represent various segments of the Ukrainian population: workers, peasants, scientists, and intelligentsia
Intelligentsia
The intelligentsia is a social class of people engaged in complex, mental and creative labor directed to the development and dissemination of culture, encompassing intellectuals and social groups close to them...
.
The building's exterior is addressed in light colors through the use of a light plaster and light-grey granite. These tones
Lightness (color)
Lightness is a property of a color, or a dimension of a color space, that is defined in a way to reflect the subjective brightness perception of a color for humans along a lightness–darkness axis. A color's lightness also corresponds to its amplitude.Various color models have an explicit term for...
contrast with the dark shade of a socle
Socle (architecture)
In architecture, a socle is a short plinth used to support a pedestal, sculpture or column. In the field of archaeology, this term is used to refer to a wall base, frequently of stone, that supports the upper part of the wall, which is made of a different material, frequently mud brick...
, made out of polished labradorite
Labradorite
Labradorite , a feldspar mineral, is an intermediate to calcic member of the plagioclase series. It is usually defined as having "%An" between 50 and 70. The specific gravity ranges from 2.68 to 2.72. The streak is white, like most silicates. The refractive index ranges from 1.559 to 1.573....
, and has an significant jut against a plane wall. All rooms of the three-story building were designed in a single compact scope. The facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
s are symmetrical and have one order that received more extensive interpretation for the colonnade of the main facade (quarter columns
Engaged column
In architecture, an engaged column is a column embedded in a wall and partly projecting from the surface of the wall, sometimes defined as semi or three-quarter detached...
), as well as the main planes of side facades (three-quarter columns).
The building is located on the eastern side of Hrushevsky Street, across from the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine
Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine
The Cabinet of Ukraine is the highest body of state executive power in Ukraine also referred to as the Government of Ukraine...
building, and is surrounded by the Mariyinsky Palace
Mariyinsky Palace
Mariyinsky Palace is an official ceremonial residence of the President of Ukraine in Kiev and adjoins the neo-classical building of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine...
, Mariyinsky Park, and a spacious pedestrian park square. From the square, the building and the palace are seen next to each other, along with a spectacular view from the Kiev heights to the left-bank neighborhoods across the Dnieper River
Dnieper River
The Dnieper River is one of the major rivers of Europe that flows from Russia, through Belarus and Ukraine, to the Black Sea.The total length is and has a drainage basin of .The river is noted for its dams and hydroelectric stations...
. The square is one of the favorite spots of Kievans and tourists.