Demolition of the Bulgakov Monument in Kyiv: Utility Workers Remove the Monument from Andriyivskyi Descent

In Kyiv, the dismantling of the monument to the Russian writer Mikhail Bulgakov, which had stood for many years on Andriyivskyi Descent, has been completed. The capital's utility services dismantled the monument and removed it from the territory adjacent to the writer's museum.

The demolition process was recorded by journalist Kateryna Nekrechy of Suspilne. In the released footage, utility workers can be seen loading the monument, wrapped in protective film, onto a vehicle. Earlier, in December 2025, the Kyiv City Council officially supported the decision to remove the monument from public space.

Position of the Institute of National Remembrance

The decision to dismantle was prepared based on the conclusion of the Expert Commission of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance (UINP). The agency concluded that Bulgakov is a symbol of Russian imperial policy. Despite the fact that the writer lived in Kyiv, experts claim that he despised Ukrainians, their culture, and their aspiration for independence.

UINP specialists drew attention to certain works by the author, in particular the story "On the Night of the 3rd" and "I Killed". In the opinion of the commission, these texts have a clearly pronounced anti-Ukrainian direction and contain narratives that are currently actively used by Kremlin propaganda. The institute also noted that the ideology of fascism is traced in Bulgakov's works.

"The establishment of monuments in honor of Bulgakov and the use of his name in toponymy is a direct embodiment of Russification," the agency emphasized.

Historical Context and New Initiatives

Experts note that the Soviet authorities in the 20th century radically changed the approach to municipal heraldry in Ukraine. Traditional coats of arms of cities were considered "bourgeois" heritage, as a result of which many settlements lost historical symbols or were forced to replace them with emblems corresponding to the ideological standards of the USSR.

Today, the process of updating urban toponymy continues in Kyiv. Thus, on the website of electronic petitions of the Kyiv City Council, an initiative to rename the "Akademmistechko" metro station in honor of the Ukrainian poet and dissident Vasyl Stus has already been registered.