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Museum of the Great Patriotic War Photo By calflier001 –

Top 10 Amazing Facts about The Ukrainian State Museum of the Great Patriotic War

The Ukrainian State Museum of the Great Patriotic War is now known as the National Museum of The History of Ukraine in The Second World War. The 25-acre museum is located in Pechers’kyi District, Ukraine.

It was made a national museum in 1996 by Leonard Kuchma, the then president of Ukraine. The museum has received over 20 million visits from both local and international tourists.

Ukraine has been part of many wars both independently and as part of larger groups such as the Soviet Union and Kievan Rus. 

1. The Ukrainian Museum Was To Be Opened In The 1940s

During the battle for the liberation of the country in 1943, the Ukrainian Government decided to create a museum for its people. The Museum would be in honour of the great patriotic war.  

The country, however, had other pressing issues that required its resources. Ukraine had lost about 9 million people to the war and more than 700 cities and towns were partially/totally demolished. Therefore, they decided to reconstruct and develop the economy instead of building the museum.

Ukraine opened a republican exhibition, Guerillas of Ukraine in Their Fight against Fascist German Invaders, in 1946. The exhibition is considered one of the predecessors of the Ukrainian Museum.

2. The Ukrainian State Museum Changed Its Residence Twice

The Ukrainian Museum was founded by Leonard Brezhnev. Leonard was a Soviet politician who led as Secretary General of the Communist Party for 18 years. The government had put up plans to construct the museum in the 1940s but this was not possible until 1974.

The Ukrainian Museum of The Great Patriotic War was then put up at Klovsky Palace. It attracted numerous visitors and this demanded a special premise forcing its relocation in 1981. The museum is currently located on the hills right of Dnipro River, on the outskirts of Pechers’kyi District.    

3. It is Located in A Historic Neighbourhood

The Pechers’kyi District is popularly known for its rich history of cathedrals and cafes. It is an urban district and location of the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv. Historical monuments such as the Old Kyiv fortress served as a stronghold for the Soviet Union and the Russian Emperor’s military.

The Pechersk Lavra Kyiv Caves Monastery is Kyiv’s premier tourist attraction. The Great Bell Tower of the Caves Monastery and The Motherland Statue in Ukraine Museum form part of Kyiv’s beautiful skyline.   

4. The Ukrainian Museum Has Over 300,000 Exhibits of Images And Artifacts of War

With over 300,000 displays, the Ukrainian Museum takes pride in being the most historically supplied museum in the country and that’s not all. The exhibits have a recorded story and detailed descriptions of their purpose, how they were used, and their warfare importance.

5. The Ukrainian Museum Has 18 Galleries

Hall with photos of soldiers and funerals in the Kiev Museum of the Great Patriotic War. Photo By JarosÅ‚aw Góralczyk –

The exhibits in the museum take one into a 3D perspective of World War II. Although the museum has 18 distinctive galleries, they all come together to give a seamless description of the 6-year war. There are numerous pictures of the soldiers, and their families, that participated in the war.

The entryway has enormous tanks, machine guns, field rocket artilleries, and fighter-bombers. The memorial complex has an exhibition of military equipment from both the Second World War and post-war years. It also has an alley of sculptures and an avenue of Hero Cities.

6. It Has The Most Controversial Monument in Ukraine

Motherland Statue. Photo By Mickey Estes –

The Motherland Statue, locally known as Brezhnev’s daughter, is the biggest and the most controversial monument in the Ukrainian museum. Unlike the nearby Pecherska Lavra golden statue, it is molded using titanium in a socialist realism artistic style.

The statue is a symbol of the victory celebration of the Soviet Union over Nazi Germany. It has a height of 62 metres and weighs 12 tonnes. That’s the average weight of 2 male elephants!  Locals have it that the statue structure is weak and some say it might soon collapse though it still strongly stands as Kyiv’s landmark.

7. It Has Over 11,000 Soldier Names Curved Into Marble Plaques

Sample of Alley of Heroes. Photo By Wadco2 –

The Ukrainian Museum is a place of Honour for Ukrainian Soldiers. The Memorial Hall has marble plaques that have names of over 11,000 soldiers and 200 Ukrainian workers carved into them.

The 11,000 soldiers were awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union for their brave achievements in service to the soviet state and society. The 200 workers were recognized for their accomplishments in society and awarded Hero of Socialist Labor.

8. The Ukrainian State Museum Has Sculptures of The Largest World War II Operation in Ukraine

Sculpture at Kyiv II. Photo By Viktor Polyanko –

Aside from warfare equipment, the Ukrainian Museum has several sculptures surrounding it. These sculptures are over 6 feet and illustrate the battles during World War II, the German Invasion of 1941 when the Soviet was defending its border.

On the Ukrainian Museum alley of Heroes, there are sculptures of the Battle of the Dnieper, the largest operation during the 1939-1945 war. It took place in 1943 on the Eastern Front of World War II. This battle was known as the largest operation because it involved over 4 million Ukrainian combatants.

9. The Name of The Ukrainian State  Museum Was Changed After A Parliament Outlaw

Before 2015, the Ukrainian State Museum of the Great Patriotic War was known as the Museum of the Great Patriotic War. This was until Ukraine gained independence in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The Ukraine parliament formed a consensus to ban the term Great Patriotic War which was used to describe the Soviet Union – Nazi Germany conflict. The parliament also outlawed the Nazi and communist symbols, flags, street names, and monuments commemorating Communist leaders.

10. It is The Most Toured Military and War Museum in Ukraine

War Museum Photo By Konstantin Brizhnichenko –

Ukraine has a total of 11 military museums. Poltava Museum of Long Range and Strategic Aviation and Naval Museum Complex Balaklava are located in former military base camps. The Suvorov Museum in Timanivka was the former training camp for troops of Russian Generalissimo Alexander Suvorov.

The Kyiv Fortress, Russian Military Equipment Exhibition, and Ukraine State Museum of the Great Patriotic War are found in Kyiv District, Ukraine. Due to its historical impact and numerous warfare weapons, the Ukraine State Museum of the Great War is one of the most visited military and war museums in the country.