How the Day of the Baptism of Rus’ was celebrated in Kyiv in 1888

“The streets were flooded with people. Everyone was heading to the Dnipro. Elegant ladies of Kyiv – or, as they call themselves, kyianky – rustled in their starched blue, pink, and white dresses, accompanied by well-groomed and respectable gentlemen. There wasn’t a single sorrowful face. The anticipation of the celebration seemed to imprint a special festive energy on everyone. On Khreshchatyk, the crowd was packed shoulder to shoulder. Two streams of people moved swiftly along both sidewalks – a colorful, bustling throng. Swept along by the general motion, I too joined the steady stride. The farther we went, the denser the crowd became…

A majestic scene unfolded before me. The sun was already fairly high in a flawlessly clear azure sky. To the right, on a steep hill, stood the monument to St. Volodymyr, holding a cross in his hand. The green slopes of the hills seemed alive with the mass of people swarming over them. At first, an order had been given not to allow the crowd onto the embankments. But as more and more people arrived, the order was revoked – perhaps because there simply weren’t enough forces to enforce it – the crowd numbered at least 40,000. And so, the celebration suddenly took on an extraordinarily grand and picturesque appearance. The hills resembled colossal bouquets of flowers…

Near the monument to St. Volodymyr, the crosses and banners of the religious procession were already sparkling. Four enormous censers burned around the monument, their thin smoke rising into the sky in pillar-like spirals.

The clergy’s procession continued for nearly half an hour. Their vestments glittered in the sunlight, while a light haze of smoke and dust enveloped the procession, and above them in the air fluttered silver and gold church banners.”

Read also