Should the Ukrainian Capital "Erase its Soviet Past or Learn to Live With History?"

In a 'long view' piece for The Calvert Journal, Owen Hatherley tackles one of the most pressing cultural questions facing many former Soviet countries: should the Ukrainian capital of Kiev (or Kyiv) erase its Soviet past or learn to live with history? For a city which saw a popular revolution against "a grotesquely wealthy elite" last year, Kiev is developing a flourishing independent cultural scene. In this article Hatherley, who has taken part in the city's 2015 art biennial, expertly narrates the city's Soviet, post-Soviet and contemporary "oligarch-funded" architecture to ask: "if Soviet Ukraine can’t be wished away, what should be conserved, and what should be rejected?"

Read the article in full, here. Hatherley's piece is part of a series for The Calvert Journal called Kiev Now.

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Cite: James Taylor-Foster. "Should the Ukrainian Capital "Erase its Soviet Past or Learn to Live With History?"" 17 Nov 2015. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/777312/should-the-ukrainian-capital-erase-its-soviet-past-or-learn-to-live-with-history> ISSN 0719-8884

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