Architecture
The Teatralna station's decor strongly recalls its former name, that of commemorating Vladimir Lenin. As it was located between two earlier stations constructed in the Stalinist style, its architects T. Tselikovska, N. Aloshkin and A. Krushynsky took care not to create any sharp contrasts between the Teatralna station and those that were already existing. Rich red marble adorns thick pylons which separate the platforms from the central hall. They hold niches decorated with bronze sculptures showing the name and life years of Vladimir Lenin, leading up to a large bronze bas-relief at the end of the central hall. The walls are reveted with white marble and the floor is laid with grey granite.
In the early 1990s, almost all of the Lenin plaques, statues and individual sculptures were removed from around Kiev, including from other Metro stations. Leninska station was renamed to Teatralna in 1992. However, the statue on the street and bas-relief in the station were retained, among just a handful of surviving Lenin monuments in Kiev.
Keeping the Lenin monuments on the station cost the director of the metro company, Mykola Shavlovsky, his position. Kiev Mayor Leonid Chernovetsky criticized Shavlovsky for lack of order in the metro. "Everything is left as it was in 1970s. Socialism is still left in the metro-just take a ride-the citations of Vladimir Lenin are all around . But even Lenin did not want such a metro as it is these days."
Read more about this topic: Teatralna (Kiev Metro)
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