The October Palace in 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....

, the capital 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...

, was designed by architect Vikentiy Beretti in the early 1900s. Renamed as the International Center of Culture and Arts after Ukrainian independence in 1991, the palace has been used for different purposes throughout its history. Prior to the Russian Revolution of 1917

Russian Revolution of 1917

The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...

, the building housed a "Seminary for Young ladies" , hence the street where it was located was called Institutskaya Street. After the revolution, the building was used by the government, including housing for Kyiv Cheka

Cheka

Cheka was the first of a succession of Soviet state security organizations. It was created by a decree issued on December 20, 1917, by Vladimir Lenin and subsequently led by aristocrat-turned-communist Felix Dzerzhinsky...

 (later known as KGB

KGB

The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...

).

Almost completely destroyed in the Second World War, the building was renovated between 1952 and 1959, and named the October Palace of Culture, used primarily as a concert stage. The street was also renamed October Revolution Street.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, it was renamed to its present-day name. Today, it continues to be used as a concert hall. A movie theater wing was recently added.

Massacres of the people

During the 1920-30 year in the building about 120 000 people were killed (shooted down or by other means). Among them - famous Soviet Ukrainian artists, painters, writers, politicians, professors, teachers, scientists, priests and so on.

External links

• http://memorial.kiev.ua/content/view/166/70/
• International Centre for Culture and Arts (Kiev)
• http://nash_kyiv.livejournal.com/12930.html
• http://lifeislove.blox.ua/2010/09/SBU-obslugovuye-interesi-FSB.html
• http://www.bizslovo.org/content/index.php/uk/koz-tvo/97-berezen/180-krushelnyckiy.html?tmpl=component&print=1&page=
• http://forumkiev.com/archive/t-19618.html
• http://www.umoloda.kiev.ua/number/548/222/19809/
• International Centre for Culture and Arts (Kiev)