The Motherland Statue (Ukrainian Батьківщина-Мати Batkivshchyna-Maty, Russian Родина-мать Rodina-mat) in the Ukrainian capital Kiev is a colossal statue that was erected in the Soviet Union to commemorate the victory of the Soviet armed forces in the Great Father .
The first model of the statue was made by the sculptor Yevgeny Vuchetich. After his death in 1974, the Ukrainian sculptor Wassyl Borodaj (1917-2010) continued the project. The artist Halyna Kaltschenko, who died in 1975, served him as a model for the monumental sculpture. [1]
The statue is made of stainless steel, has a height of 62 meters and stands on a 40-meter high pedestal on the mountainside above the Dnieper. The total height of the monument is 102 meters, the weight is 500 tons. [2] To ensure stability, there is a special mechanical construction inside. The monument forms the center of a memorial that commemorates the victory of the Red Army in World War II. The shield, on which the coat of arms of the Soviet Union is depicted, is 36 square meters and weighs 13 tons. The sword is 16 meters long and weighs nine tons. The figure was to be inaugurated on May 9, 1980, the 35th anniversary of Victory. However, there were problems with the attachment of the platform and the use of a special crane was required to erect the figure. The inauguration took place on May 9, 1981 by party leader Leonid Brezhnev.
It is possible to reach a small, barred viewing platform through an arm behind the shield. To do this, you have to climb a safety rope through a narrow shaft.