It does seem strange seeing this in the Evening Standard, given that I went to all of these places last week. I didn’t know that there was a football match in Poltava, and I’m surprised that they’ve moved it. I hope that it all gets sorted, Kharkiv in particular did feel a bit distant from everything in many ways, but Poltava felt a very safe and comfortable town. Poor Ukraine….
The Battle of Poltava is an important battle for the people of Russia as it was when Peter the Great defeated the Swedish army. If the battle, which took place on 27 June 1709, had gone the other way then it isn’t likely that we’d refer to Peter as Great and it’s not likely that the Russian Empire would have been as substantial as it is. But we might have had a lot more people speaking Swedish.
To make the whole thing even more complex, the Ukrainians like Ivan Mazepa, because he sided with the Swedes against the Russians. It was the beginning of the end for the Swedish Empire and they lost around 7,000 men, compared to the Russians who lost around 1,500 men.
The museum is located a bus ride away, which is another story, from the city centre and it is situated in what was once a hospital for veterans of the Russian-Turkish wars. It’s well laid out and is larger than I thought, with the admission price costing under £1, even with the photographic permit that I felt the need to buy.
A diorama of the battle scene. There was also a film showing on one of the TV screens in the museum which was the most graphic representation of war that I’ve ever seen. There were more stabbings, explosions and heads falling off than you could shake a stick at, although there were shaking lances in the film as well.
I’m slightly sceptical, but this is the clothing which allegedly belonged to Peter I, his caftan (tunic) and camisole (undercoat).
The death mask of Peter I.
And a painting of Peter 1.
These are the coats of arms for towns in the area, from top to bottom (and left to right), (i) Poltava, (ii) Hadyach, (iii) Lubny, (iv) Pryluky, (v) Pereyaslav and (vi) Myrgorod.
A cannon thing.
A map of the battlefield.
All in all, a well presented museum which had some interesting artefacts. I wasn’t entirely sure exactly where the battlefields were in relation to the modern geography, but they seemed to cover a bit of an area and the memorials we walked by to get to the museum suggested the approximate location.
The whole site was a scene of great pride for the Russians over the centuries, although it’s a more challenging site for the Ukrainians. It was though fascinating to see this area, as it’s one of those wars which changed the landscape of European politics and ultimately led to the expansion of the Russian empire at the cost of the Swedish empire.
This stone marked the life of Prince Ihor, the Grand Prince of an early Slavic country, who reigned from 912 until 945. He is seen as being the leader of the forerunner of Ukraine although I can’t see any other obvious link between him and the city of Poltava.
Ivan Mazepa is one of the more controversial people in Ukrainian history, having been shunned by the Russians and quite recently he has been fêted by the Ukrainians. The Russians don’t like him because he changed sides before the Battle of Poltava, supporting the Swedes instead of the Russians. The Russian Orthodox Church excommunicated him in 1708, and they still haven’t relented. That’s a proper grudge.
Anyway, Mazepa is now becoming a bit of a national hero and he’s appeared on the back of a 10-hryvnia banknote, which is something to write home about. Or it would be if Mazepa hadn’t died in 1709.
However, even this statue has been a bit of a problem for the authorities, as it was halted before being given the go-ahead. It was unveiled on 6 May 2016 by Petro Poroshenko, the current President of Ukraine.
A nod towards tourism, the Poltava sign in front of the Assumption Cathedral.
This site, with extensive views over the nearby hills, was once the site of the Poltava’s bastion where lookouts could keep an eye on any threats to the city. In 1909 the local authorities thought that it’d be a good idea to construct something to mark 200 years since the Battle of Poltava which had taken place in 1709. They decided upon a White Rotunda and this was duly constructed and an event held to mark the anniversary.
The 200th anniversary was certainly a big event for the city, the Tsar of Russia came along and there were numerous services held to remember those who had died at the Battle. The Tsar also went to have a little look at the battlefield itself, although I imagine he didn’t have to faff about waiting for the number 5 bus like we did…. But that story is for elsewhere.
Unfortunately, the Germans decided that they thought it’d be a good idea to destroy the White Rotunda and they demolished it during the Second World War. However, in 1954 plans were put forwards to reconstruct the arch and this is what is currently at the site.
The views over the surrounding area.
And me. How lovely.
This is meant to be one of the most photographed locations in the city, but it is marginally less appealing in the snow. It represents the local cuisine of dumplings, with what are 12 dumplings in a bowl with a giant spoon in front of them.
The work was unveiled on 1 April 2006 and the choice of date was deliberate, and the dumplings aren’t meant to be taken seriously. Although it seems some locals don’t like the whole arrangement and the city authorities had to move them to their current location from elsewhere in Poltava due to complaints.
I thought that it was a rather fun artwork and it has some meaning, so I’m sure it’ll remain a popular place for photos to be taken.
My first impressions of this pub weren’t that positive from the exterior, as it looks a little generic. However, it was well reviewed by others and my second impressions were much better after we entered it.
It wasn’t particularly busy inside, although given that it was 3pm on a Saturday, that wasn’t entirely unsurprising. The whole environment was clean and comfortable and the welcome seemed genuinely friendly.
They had a dark beer, which was decent although it didn’t have a particularly strong aftertaste or notes of particular ingredients. However, it tasted fine and was at the appropriate temperature.
I’m not sure that there are that many English visitors to Poltava, so it wasn’t surprising that they didn’t have an English menu. However, the waiter got someone else over to help and they were able to speak excellent English. I was struggling with the pizza section of the menu a little, particularly as I’ve forgotten the Cyrillic alphabet which might have helped. However, I could work out the BBQ pizza, so I went with that.
My expectations were a little low as I realised that it might just mean a pizza with BBQ sauce, but it was much better than that with pieces of BBQ meat. It looked like it was wood fired and it had a crispiness to it with a range of tastes of textures. It could have been a little hotter in terms of temperature, but it still exceeded what I expected. Very nice.
And the seed things which came with the beer, salty and very moreish.
The bar had a set-up which meant that they needed to take a card at a nearby location, so it seemed easier to just pay with cash. I didn’t work out what the nearby location was, but it was perhaps a fixed card machine they couldn’t easily move. Either way, the prices were very reasonable and a pizza and beer cost around £3.
