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Home » Trip Reports » Ukraine 2023 Trip Report » A Ride On The Kyiv Metro
Ukraine 2023 Trip Report

A Ride On The Kyiv Metro

Matthew Klint Posted onFebruary 25, 2023November 13, 2023 7 Comments

This week I’m “liveblogging” my trip to Ukraine. Unlike traditional reports, these posts will be shorter and more frequent.


I returned my rental car at 9:00 am on the west side of Kyiv, which is right in the heart of the morning rush hour. Rather than sit in an Uber going back to my hotel, I took the Kyiv Metro back. There, I noticed a not-so-subtle change from my trip on the Metro a decade earlier.

Kyiv Metro 2023

From Tashkent to Tbilisi and from Baku to Moscow, I love old Soviet metro stations and loved the Kyiv Metro during my first visit in 2011.

After dropping off my car, I boarded the Metro at Nyvky station on the Святошинсько-Броварська лінія (Sviatoshynsko–Brovarska line). The station opened in 1971 and looks like it has not been updated since then. In so many ex-Soviet cities, you cross underground rather than above ground and each station is like a mini-city of its own, with bustling bakeries and convenience stores and hair salons.

a man walking on a sidewalk next to a building

a subway entrance with a sign and a bus stop

people walking in a tunnel

a group of people in a subway station

Trains run frequently and I love the countdown timer that displays the time since the last train departed at every station.

a group of people standing in a line

The trains look old, but are relatively modern onboard.

a woman standing at a train station

a blue train with people standing in front of it

a man standing in a subway car

Fares run 8 UAH, which is about 30 US cents.

One of my favorite stations was Театральна (Teatralna) station near the Kyiv Opera Theatre. It opened in 1987 and prior to 1992 was known as Ленiнська (Leninska) station. Why?

a long hallway with a light on the ceiling

a statue of a man on a wall

a statue of a man
There’s that cult of personality…

(those were pictures I took in 2011)

After Russia’s 2014 invasion of Crimea, Lenin was covered and a 3D image of the opera theatre was installed over it. Lenin may still be there, but you would not know it today:

people walking in a tunnel

a mural on the wall

Some of these Metro stations are incredibly cavernous.

people standing on an escalator

Upstairs at Teatralna station there is still some Soviet-era artwork on the wall:

a room with a round ceiling and a light fixture

a white wall with a red box

a sculpture of a hand with people running

a sculpture of people walking on a wall

Time did not permit me to stop at more stations on this trip, but there are some beauties. Most of all, though, I thought it interesting that Lenin station has been “cancelled.”

> Read More: Lenin Statues and Historical Remembrance

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Next Article Banksy’s War Art In Ukraine

About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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7 Comments

  1. Sam Reply
    February 25, 2023 at 6:30 pm

    What does this mean:

    > I love the countdown timer that displays the time since the last train departed at every station.

    Does it count down the time until the train will arrive at your current station, or is it counting up how much time has elapsed since the previous train departed your current station?

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      February 25, 2023 at 6:36 pm

      The latter. It counts up how much time has elapsed since the previous train departed the current station. So I guess it is a count-up timer?

      • Sam Reply
        February 25, 2023 at 8:00 pm

        Thank you!

        Take care over there and safe travels home.

      • JorgeGeorge Paez Reply
        February 25, 2023 at 11:08 pm

        So when it hits zero another train arrives?
        Was that your experience?

        • Matthew Klint Reply
          February 25, 2023 at 11:16 pm

          No, the other way. It counts the time since the last train. Usually 2-3 minutes between trains.

  2. PolishKnight Reply
    February 25, 2023 at 9:56 pm

    Thanks for those. I took the metro in Kiev and was also similarly impressed. Much nicer than DC metro which, IMO, is underwhelming including the new Silver Line.

    I’m amused at all your adventures while your wife and child are at home. My wife won’t permit me too many adventures without her dragging along and our work is difficult to permit it. My father-in-law is getting to travel because he’s 87 and I think it’s good for his health and mental outlook. If he travels, he’s at least pushing his mental boundaries and I think those are most in need of stimulus at his age. His iphone is configured for wifi but I can’t facetime him. I think a problem with his internet provider. Working on it remotely which is challenging to say the least!

    I miss Ukraine and Poland and will probably visit later this year with my United miles I get from credit card bonuses. I pray daily the war will be over soon and normality will return but at my age, I’m beginning to understand that normality is sometime anormal. I’m glad you’re enjoying the hospitality of Ukraine. They are a wonderful people that i discovered 2 decades ago.

  3. ROGER Reply
    February 26, 2023 at 5:42 am

    The Russian art work on the walls remind me of China street art when I first went to China in 1977

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