Lavra Reserve approves installation of monument to Ivan Mazepa

A bust of Ivan Mazepa displayed in one of the Lavra’s buildings. Photo: Facebook page of Svitlana Kotliarevska

Representatives of the expert community, historians, and military personnel have endorsed plans to install a memorial to Hetman Ivan Mazepa near the Dormition Cathedral at the National Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra Reserve. The proposal was discussed during a special meeting, according to Life.kyiv.ua.

Participants argued that Mazepa’s legacy should be returned to the historical landscape of the Lavra, citing his role as one of the monastery’s greatest benefactors. According to the organizers, it was during Mazepa’s era that the Lavra acquired much of its present Baroque appearance, now regarded as a hallmark of Ukrainian cultural heritage.

The memorial will take the form of a modest composition featuring a bronze bust of the hetman mounted on a granite column approximately 2.5 meters high. Project authors noted that the column will incorporate fragments of historic granite associated with the Dormition Cathedral.

The bust, first unveiled as part of a reserve exhibition in late 2025, will become the centerpiece of the so-called “Mazepa Route,” a new thematic trail designed for visitors and tourists.

During the discussion, historian Olha Kovalevska, Doctor of Historical Sciences, recalled that a full-scale monument to Mazepa in Kyiv had been planned under a presidential decree issued in 2007 but was never realized. Participants therefore included in their final resolution a recommendation that the city authorities revisit the idea of erecting a major monument to the hetman in the Ukrainian capital.

Historians and military representatives who took part in the council described the installation of the memorial on monastery grounds as a step toward “restoring historical justice” and filling public spaces with figures from Ukraine’s own historical tradition.

As previously reported by the UOJ, reserve director Ostapenko commented on whether the fresco of St. Seraphim of Sarov in the Lavra would be painted over.

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