Kyiv — Photography and Art Portfolio by Michal Huniewicz

Random photos from Kyiv, Ukraine. The purpose of the trip was to go to Chernobyl - featured in the next gallery.

Thanks: Ekaterina, Iuna, Ksenia.

Uploaded on: 2015-08-02. Updated on: 2025-12-18.

Map showing Kyiv, Ukraine location (opens in OpenStreetMap)

This Is Your Captain Speaking, Please Fasten Your Seatbelts

This Is Your Captain Speaking, Please Fasten Your Seatbelts — The pilot on our flight passed out, so I had to try to land the plane. ISO 200, 18mm, f/8.0, 1/500s.

Passenger Kartik

Passenger Kartik — It was so smooth, people didn't even notice we landed. ISO 200, 18mm, f/3.5, 1/50s.

Ekaterina

Ekaterina — We hooked up with Ekaterina aka Katyusha, who showed us a bit of the city. ISO 400, 40mm, f/5.0, 1/15s.

Maidan Nezalezhnosti

Maidan Nezalezhnosti — Katya showed us Maidan Nezalezhnosti, or the Independence Square, where various political rallies took place, such as Revolution on Granite in 1989, Ukraine without Kuchma in 2001, the Orange Revolution in 2004, and Euromaidan in 2013-2014. [1] ISO 200, 55mm, f/8.0, 1/1600s.

EU

Euromaidan was a wave of demonstrations when the Ukrainians demanded closer European integration. [2] ISO 200, 50mm, f/8.0, 1/1000s.

Putin Khuilo

Putin Khuilo — Putin khuilo means Putin is a dickhead - it's a slogan that became popular during the 2014 Russian military intervention in Ukraine. [3] We bought this as a gift for our Russian friend - he hasn't been using it. ISO 200, 18mm, f/3.5, 1/8s.

Gas Masks

Gas Masks — Gas masks and helmets became symbols of the revolution. ISO 200, 18mm, f/8.0, 1/800s.

Unity Mural

Unity Mural — Ukrainian government policies were not inclusive of the Russian minority, which gave the Russians an excuse for the intervention. ISO 200, 40mm, f/8.0, 1/640s.

Army Poster

Army Poster — The poster encourages men aged 18 (so legally adult) to join the armed forces of Ukraine. ISO 200, 38mm, f/8.0, 1/640s.

Chalk Outline

Chalk Outline — More than one hundred protesters, mostly civilian, were killed (some by snipers), and the Ukrainians often refer to them as the Heavenly Hundred. [4] ISO 200, 18mm, f/8.0, 1/1250s.

Glory to Ukraine

Glory to Ukraine — The real question here is, as predicted by Samuel Huntington [5], should Ukraine be part of the Western Civilisation or the Orthodox (Russian) civilisation, and the answer isn't easy, as Western Ukraine is rather pro-Western, and Eastern Ukraine is rather pro-Eastern. According to Mykola Riabchuk, Ukrainian intellectual, it would be more accurate to divide Ukraine into post-colonial (pro-Soviet) and anti-colonial (anti-Soviet) - he reminds us that to speak Ukrainian in Ukraine (as opposed to Russian) is often perceived as embarrassing, as it is seen as the language of the unsophisticated peasant. [17] Out of 15 Prime Ministers of Ukraine, only the current one, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, speaks Ukrainian.
In the photo, a Soviet monument (Ukraine was a Soviet republic) with a Ukrainian flag painted on. ISO 200, 26mm, f/8.0, 1/800s.

Club of the Cabinet of Ministers

Club of the Cabinet of Ministers — This elegant building used to be the House of Culture of the Parliament, now it is the reception house for delegates (thanks, Iuna). ISO 200, 18mm, f/8.0, 1/1250s.

Korean Culture

Korean Culture — Ukrainian girl wearing a traditional Korean outfit. ISO 200, 42mm, f/8.0, 1/640s.

Tai Chi

Tai Chi — Tai Chi in Kyiv. Compare the arch to this arch in Moscow. ISO 200, 50mm, f/2.0, 1/8000s.

Golden Gates

Golden Gates — This is the main gate in the 11th-century fortifications of Kyiv, when it was the capital of Ancient Rus (the cultural ancestor of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia - hence some claim it should be one country again [7]). It's not original, as it was rebuilt by the Soviets in 1982, and no one knows what the real thing looked like. [6] ISO 200, 19mm, f/8.0, 1/400s.

Corbel

Corbel — Elaborate corbel. ISO 200, 18mm, f/8.0, 1/250s.

Muqarnas

Muqarnas — Islamic door - nice find. It's got an imitation of ablaq. ISO 200, 18mm, f/8.0, 1/100s.

Creepy Child

Creepy Child — In case you needed more encouragement to use contraception. ISO 200, 18mm, f/8.0, 1/640s.

Willies

Willies — This park keeps getting more and more strange. ISO 200, 32mm, f/8.0, 1/400s.

Fingernails

Fingernails — Fingernails painted with national Ukrainian colours.
From Wikipedia: The common explanation of "blue sky above yellow field of wheat" was invented around that time [that's 1848], and, although this evocation of a Ukrainian landscape has nothing to do with the choice of colours or the history of the original yellow and blue, it certainly has formed the Ukrainians' conception of their flag." [16] The whole thing is [citation needed]. ISO 200, 18mm, f/8.0, 1/500s.

Cheshire Cat

Cheshire Cat — Cheshire cat. ISO 200, 55mm, f/8.0, 1/1000s.

Dolls

Dolls — Dolls on sale. ISO 200, 18mm, f/8.0, 1/1000s.

St. Sophia Bell Tower

St. Sophia Bell Tower — The bell tower of Saint Sophia's Cathedral. ISO 200, 55mm, f/8.0, 1/640s.

Banner

Banner — Banner somewhere in Central Kyiv. ISO 200, 18mm, f/8.0, 1/400s.

Dorota

Dorota — Dorota, probably the most courageous of all of us going to Chernobyl. ISO 200, 46mm, f/5.3, 1/160s.

Tram

Tram — A tram driver's cabin. ISO 200, 20mm, f/5.0, 1/60s.

Buy Ukrainian

Buy Ukrainian — Shop prices display the country of a product's origin, so that the customers can make what they believe is the right choice. ISO 200, 20mm, f/2.8, 1/50s.

Traditional Meets Modern

Traditional Meets Modern — Woman in the Pechersk Lavra, an Orthodox Christian monastery. ISO 200, 45mm, f/8.0, 1/640s.

Babushka Magda

Babushka Magda — Magda, nicknamed Pumpkin, after her eating habits. ISO 200, 30mm, f/4.2, 1/30s.

Relics

Relics — Lavra is a set of caves, established in as early as 1051. [9] They are 383 metres long and are between 5 to 20 metres deep. [10] It is quite claustrophobic in there, and not impossible to get lost, as Pumpkin and I proved.
In the photo, Kartik and Magda looking at a coffin with, presumably, a religious authority inside. Mummies, skulls, caves, candles, what more can you ask for. ISO 1600, 12mm, f/2.8, 1/25s.

Magda and Candles

Magda and Candles — Magda, when we got lost. ISO 400, 12mm, f/2.8, 1/20s.

Photo #1

Photo #1 — Photo #1. ISO 200, 11mm, f/2.8, 1/160s.

Miss Kyiv

Miss Kyiv — Girl we met in Lavra. ISO 200, 50mm, f/1.4, 1/8000s.

Mother Motherland

Mother Motherland — Huge, Soviet statue made of stainless steel, commemorating the Soviet victory over the Nazis in WW2. [11] At its feet, you'll find out the war started in 1941, although it actually started in 1939, but then, woops, the Soviet Union was allied with the Nazis and busy invading Poland, and I suppose that's not something they wanted to be proud of.
We were told you used to be able to climb it to where the shield is, but people were committing suicide, so they closed it. ISO 200, 18mm, f/3.5, 1/5000s.

Tanks

Tanks — Some of the old Soviet tanks are currently being re-used by the Ukrainians in their struggle against the invading Russians. ISO 200, 18mm, f/3.5, 1/4000s.

Iuna

Iuna — Iuna, who was so kind as to show us the best bits of the city. ISO 200, 50mm, f/1.4, 1/8000s.

Warsnail

Warsnail — Never underestimate the power of a warsnail. ISO 200, 28mm, f/4.0, 1/2500s.

Uspensky Sobor Gate

Uspensky Sobor Gate — The Uspensky Sobor gate. ISO 200, 18mm, f/4.5, 1/5000s.

Kyiv Underground

Kyiv Underground — This is meant to be one of the longest escalators in Europe. [12] ISO 1100, 11mm, f/3.5, 1/40s.

St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery

St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery — St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery. ISO 200, 45mm, f/8.0, 1/400s.

Women at St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery

Women at St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery — Women at St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery. ISO 360, 11mm, f/2.8, 1/25s.

Pumpkin Wearing My Scarf

Pumpkin Wearing My Scarf — Pumpkin wearing my scarf. ISO 220, 50mm, f/2.0, 1/40s.

Woman Crossing Herself

Woman Crossing Herself — Woman crossing herself. ISO 200, 45mm, f/5.3, 1/25s.

Photo #2

Photo #2 — Photo #2. ISO 1600, 11mm, f/2.8, 1/40s.

Tomasz on the Escalator

Tomasz on the Escalator — Tomasz on the escalator. ISO 800, 11mm, f/3.5, 1/40s.

Slavutych Metro Station

Slavutych Metro Station — Slavutych metro station. ISO 200, 11mm, f/2.8, 1/60s.

Zoloti Vorota Metro Station

Zoloti Vorota Metro Station — Zoloti Vorota metro station. ISO 200, 11mm, f/2.8, 1/80s.

Pumpkin in Bed

Pumpkin in Bed — Pumpkin in bed. ISO 400, 50mm, f/1.8, 1/40s.

Pirogovo

Pirogovo — Pirogovo, open-air museum near Kyiv. ISO 200, 55mm, f/5.6, 1/1250s.

Welcome

Welcome — The woman spoke Russian to us, we understood quite a bit of it. ISO 200, 35mm, f/5.0, 1/1250s.

Jesus & Mary

Jesus & Mary — Jesus & Mary, the inside of a peasants' house. ISO 400, 34mm, f/5.0, 1/40s.

Zarubyntsi Church

Zarubyntsi Church — Zarubyntsi church and a modern car. ISO 200, 24mm, f/9.0, 1/800s.

Ukrainian Easter Bread

Ukrainian Easter Bread — That Ukrainian Easter bread on the right, it looks somewhat phallic - and it's called velikodnia paska, as the Cultural Encylopedia of the Penis informs us. [13] ISO 250, 18mm, f/4.0, 1/40s.

Kysorychi Church

Kysorychi Church — The Kysorychi village church. The whole place felt like a setting for the game the Witcher. ISO 200, 30mm, f/8.0, 1/1250s.

Kysorychi Church

Kysorychi Church — The Transcarpathian Ukrainian wooden church of the Kanora Village. ISO 200, 38mm, f/4.8, 1/320s.

Sheaf of Wheat

Sheaf of Wheat — Sheaf of wheat. ISO 200, 35mm, f/8.0, 1/200s.

Zelenc Village Church

Zelenc Village Church — The Zelenc village church. ISO 200, 31mm, f/4.2, 1/2000s.

Zelenc Village Church Iconostasis

Zelenc Village Church Iconostasis — Compare this Orthodox iconostasis (wall of icons) with its Coptic counterpart. ISO 640, 18mm, f/3.5, 1/40s.

Kartik and Baba Yaga's House

Kartik and Baba Yaga's House — Kartik visiting Baba Yaga's house.
I thought Baba Yaga was purely for scaring children, but it turns out that "Baba Yaga is a Slavic version of Kali, the Hindu Goddess of Death, the Dancer on Gravestones. Although, more often than not, we consider Baba Yaga as a symbol of death, She is a representation of the Crone in the Triple Goddess symbolism. She is the Death that leads to Rebirth. It is curious that some Slavic fairy tales show Baba Yaga living in Her hut with Her two other sisters, also Baba Yagas. In this sense, Baba Yaga becomes full Triple Goddess, representing Virgin, Mother, and the Crone. Baba Yaga is also sometimes described as a guardian of the Water of Life and Death. When one is killed by sword or by fire, when sprinkled with the Water of Death, all wounds heal, and after that, when the corpse is sprinkled with the Water of Life, it is reborn. The symbolism of oven in the Baba Yaga fairy tales is very powerful since from primordial times the oven has been a representation of womb and of baked bread. The womb, of course, is a symbol of life and birth, and the baked bread is a very powerful the image of earth, a place where one’s body is buried to be reborn again. It is interesting that Baba Yaga invites Her guests to clean up and eat before eating them, as though preparing them for their final journey, for entering the death, which will result in a new clean rebirth. Baba Yaga also gives Her prey a choice when She asks them to sit on Her spatula to be placed inside the oven: if one is strong or witty, he or she escapes the fires of the oven, for weak or dim-witted ones, the road to death becomes clear." [14]
Baba Yaga is possibly related to Kali via the ancient Iranian demoness Jahi. [15] ISO 200, 18mm, f/10.0, 1/500s.

Tomasz the Mad

Tomasz the Mad — This looks like one of those caption contest photos. ISO 200, 18mm, f/8.0, 1/1000s.

Bells

Bells — The sun shines on this deadly new morning,
The church bells ring an early warning. ISO 200, 28mm, f/8.0, 1/1000s.

Dorogynka Church

Dorogynka Church — Dorogynka church. ISO 200, 38mm, f/8.0, 1/640s.

Oak of Perun

Oak of Perun — Perun's Oak. Perun was the highest god of the Slavic mythology - the god of thunder and lightning (and so he scorched the tree in the 7th or 8th century, if I remember correctly). ISO 200, 18mm, f/8.0, 1/1000s.

Wooden Bridge

Wooden Bridge — Wooden bridge. ISO 200, 28mm, f/8.0, 1/320s.

Trees

Trees — Trees. ISO 200, 30mm, f/8.0, 1/160s.

Kartik

Kartik — Kartik when drunk. ISO 800, 50mm, f/1.4, 1/60s.

Ksenia

Ksenia — Ksenia. ISO 800, 50mm, f/1.4, 1/25s.

When the Hour Is Late and We Are All Drunk

When the Hour Is Late and We Are All Drunk — Re-enacting a photo by Alfred Stieglitz. ISO 450, 50mm, f/1.4, 1/60s.

Kartik Out of Action

Kartik Out of Action — Kartik getting his eye hurt by the dust in the air - he would not recover until the end of the trip. ISO 200, 42mm, f/5.0, 1/1600s.

Ksenia Playing with her Phone

Ksenia Playing with her Phone — Ksenia left work earlier to meet up with us. ISO 800, 55mm, f/5.6, 1/13s.

Kyiv Funicular

Kyiv Funicular — Kyiv funicular. ISO 200, 50mm, f/2.5, 1/200s.

Chapel on the River Dnieper

Chapel on the River Dnieper — Chapel on the River Dnieper. ISO 200, 18mm, f/3.5, 1/2000s.

Ksenia

Ksenia — Ksenia. ISO 200, 50mm, f/1.6, 1/200s.

Sources