He’s got muscles and a great physique, but Svyatoslav is no favorite among statues.
Newlyweds like taking their first photographers together in front of monuments to Kyiv founders and ancient rulers. Whether because of gratitude or as an extended metaphor for the birth of a new family, many couples have smiling prints together with Kyi, Shchek, Khoryv and their sister Lybid who started Kyiv. The 11th-century Princess Olha is also a popular photo companion for laying ground to Christianity in Ukraine. Her son, Svyatoslav, however, escaped the sights of kissing brides and grooms. There are a few reasons to that.
The prince sits proudly on a horse at the end of Peizazhna Alley, a scenic walk from the remnants of the Tithes Church above St Andrew’s Descent. With Monaco Restaurant behind his back, he’s looking over the steep woody ravine and modern high-rises in the horizon.
Carved out of a single stone, he is a role model for gym addicts. Together with the horse, they show off overwhelming muscles and a great physique.
Historians say he was too detached from Kyiv to deserve much attention from the city. He left his mother, Olha, behind to rule Kyiv so he could expand the state frontiers on the battlefield. “He did not like Kyiv very much,” said historian Vitaliy Kovalynski. “He wanted to take the capital elsewhere to the river Don. I don’t think we need a monument to him in Kyiv. Besides, he was a pagan.”
Kyivans, however, love him for a perky forelock on a bold head. Svyatoslav seems to have introduced it before the Cossacks started shaving off their hair, leaving only a tuft in the middle as a sign of military endeavors. Sometimes, the prince finds his lock painted in different colors by some unruly youth who refer to him as a Kyiv punk.
Some historians say Svyatoslav shaved look was supposed to shock and scare the Byzantine rulers because their tradition commanded haircuts only during trial or mourning.
School textbooks praise Yaroslav for his warring campaigns against nomadic Pechenihy tribes. He’s been invading lands as far as the North Caucasus and was rarely seen in Kyiv. In the chronicles, Svyatoslav is depicted as an alpha male who slept under open skies, ate wild animal meat and never bothered for comfort. Hardly an inspiring model for a family start-up, but a great motivation to hit the gym.
Kyiv Post staff writer Yuliya Popova can be reached at [email protected]
