In the Lavra reserve, they approved the installation of a monument to Ivan Mazepa
Experts believe that installing a monument to Mazepa on the monastery grounds is a step toward "restoring historical justice."
At the National Reserve "Kiev Pechersk Lavra", representatives of the expert community, historians and military personnel approved a project to install a memorial sign to Hetman Ivan Mazepa near the Dormition Cathedral. This is reported by Life.kyiv.ua.
The participants of the event declared the necessity of returning Mazepa's figure to the historical space of the Lavra, arguing this with his role as one of the greatest patrons in the history of the monastery. According to the organizers of the discussion, it was under Mazepa that the current baroque appearance of the Lavra was formed, which is a symbol of Ukrainian heritage.
The memorial sign will represent a chamber composition: a bronze bust of the hetman will be installed on a granite column about 2.5 meters high. The project authors emphasized that fragments of historical granite connected to the Dormition Cathedral will be used to create the column.
The bust, which was presented in the reserve's exposition at the end of 2025, will become the central element of the so-called "Mazepa Path" - a new thematic route for tourists.
During the discussion, Doctor of Historical Sciences Olga Kovalevskaya reminded that a full-scale monument to the hetman in Kiev was planned to be installed according to a presidential decree from 2007, but the project was never implemented. In connection with this, the discussion participants included in the final resolution a recommendation for the capital's authorities to return to the question of constructing a large-scale monument to Mazepa in Kiev.
Historians and military personnel who participated in the council called the installation of the sign on the monastery territory a step toward "restoring historical justice" and filling public space with their own historical figures.
As SPJ reported, Ostapenko told whether they will paint over the fresco of Seraphim of Sarov in the Lavra.
