>>/Project “Search”
A new mini-sculpture was opened in the Ukrainian capital, as part of the “Search!” project. It is dedicated to Princess Olga – a determined ruler, a brave leader devoted to her land and family.
The new art object was presented on May 23 in the Shevchenko district of the capital.
According to the author project of Yulia Bevzenko, this mini-sculpture reveals the main secret of the monument to Princess Olga on Mykhailivska Square in Kyiv.
I want women – whether they are very young girls or respectable ladies, our friends, sisters, daughters and mothers – to come to Olga for strength and determination, so that they feel that they are never alone. I want them to always be aware of their right to freedom, their ability to act and fight, – emphasized the author of the project “Search!” Yulia Bevzenko.
The Facebook page of the project says that in 1911, the Kyiv branch of the Military Historical Society ordered a monument to Princess Olga from the sculptor Ivan Kavaleridze. He created her with a sword in her hands. However, this image confused Metropolitan Flavian of Kyiv and Galicia, and the author was ordered to “tame” the woman: remove the sword, and put a cross in her hands instead. The sculptor apparently fulfilled the wishes of the customers.
Mini-sculpture of Princess Olga/Project “Search”
But, as a creative person, he found a way to preserve his original plan: he did not take Olga's sword, but hid it under her cloak. In his memoirs, the sculptor hinted that this is exactly what Olga's posture, which firmly grips the edge of the cloak with her left hand, testifies to. For this audacity, he was not invited to the opening of the monument. Our mini-sculpture returns the princess her legal weapon and reminds us that every Ukrainian woman is Olga, each of us has our own sword. Moreover, it can be a smile, a meaningful silence, an apt word, and a timely action, the “Search!” project noted.
Dmytro Synenko became the patron of the sculpture, who shared the fact that the war distances him from his beloved, and in this way he wants to remind her of her strength and express his gratitude, and at the same time to every woman who at this time protects her children, her country, and often her husbands.
>>/Project “Search”
The mini-sculpture can be seen on Velyka Zhytomyrska Street, 2, the facade of the Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine, Mykhailo Square.