There's not much to say about Rodina Mat (literally 'Nation's Mother', but formally called the Defence of the Motherland Monument). However, from certain parts of Kyiv it's highly visible and so requires a high-profile explanation. Especially when you're approaching from the left (or east) bank, this 62m-tall statue of a female warrior standing on a 40m-tall podium is liable to loom on the horizon and make you wonder, 'What the hell is that?'
Inaugurated by Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev in 1981, it was the second and the last Nation's Mother monument erected in the USSR. Although initially designed by the same artist as the iconic Rodina-Mat in Volgograd, it completely lacked its appeal and became a subject of ridicule, especially when the communist authorities reduced the size of the sword so that it doesn't rise over the cupolas of Kyevo-Pecherska Lavra. Even if you don't like such Soviet pomposity, don't say too much; you'd be taking on a titanium woman carrying 12 tonnes of shield and sword. You can look straight into her eyes by taking an elevator to a platform located at the top of her shield (200uah).
The grounds around Rodina Mat are popular for strolling and contain a number of intriguing relics of the communist era, including an eternal flame in memory of WWII victims; various old tanks, helicopters and anti-aircraft guns; and a veritable garden of Soviet realist sculpture in and around the underpass leading towards the Lavra.
