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Sándor Petőfi |
The bronze bust of Petöfi, made in Hungary by László Kutas, was erected in a park in the centre of Kiev. It was inaugurated on Saturday, as part of the city's Hungarian Days.
The statue's inauguration marks not only this year Hungarian Days in Ukraine but the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Association of Hungarians in Kiev (MKE), said association chairman Tibor Vass.
In a statement, the Deputy Mayor of Kiev Sergiy Rudik said Petőfi shared the same place among freedom fighters in Hungary as Taras Shevchenko enjoys in Ukraine. The inauguration is a further sign of the close cooperation between Kiev and Budapest, which are sister cities, he added.
A memorial to Shevchenko was inaugurated in the Hungarian capital in the summer of 2007.
The memorial to Kossuth was unveiled in the Ukrainian city of Tjatschiw. The statue was renovated with HUF 350,000 in grant money from the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a grant from the Mayor's Office of Tjatschiw, said Hungarian consulate in Berehove József Bacskai.
The two-metre statue is one of few Hungarian monuments to have survived the Soviet occupation. Legend has it that Hungarian locals saved the statue in 1944 by plying the Soviets who were about to demolish it with plum brandy.
Source: Múlt-kor
