Museum of the Great Patriotic War

Lonely Planet review

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 fittingly high-profile explanation. Especially when you're journeying in from the left (or east) bank, this 62m-tall statue of a female warrior is liable to loom up on the horizon and make you wonder, 'What the hell is that?'

What the hell, indeed. It's the icing on top of the Museum of the Great Patriotic War. The statue has been nicknamed 'the Iron Lady' and 'Tin Tits'. 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 get right into her head - literally, via an elevator in the museum.

While the museum was built belatedly in 1981 to honour Kyiv's defenders during the 'great patriotic war' of WWII, it seems to be straight out of the 1950s, with gloomy lighting and huge display halls covered in creaky parquet flooring. This is a sombre and sometimes even macabre exhibition, such as in Hall No 6 where you find yourself looking at a pair of gloves made from human skin.

The overall effect is as moving as it is shocking. Westerners often don't appreciate how much Ukraine suffered as Nazi troops moved eastwards towards Moscow. Here you get a better idea.