In the very heart of Kyiv, on Independence Square, rises a 61-meter triumphal column – the Monument to the Independence of Ukraine. Built in 2001 for the tenth anniversary of independence, it combines two styles: the pedestal is designed in the spirit of Ukrainian Baroque, modeled on the Zaborovsky Gate, a Baroque monument on the territory of the National Reserve “Sophia of Kyiv”, and the column, faced with white Italian marble, refers to the classical Empire. It is crowned by a bronze statue of Berehyna – a girl in national dress with a viburnum branch in her hands; sculptor Anatoly Kushch gave her the features of his daughter-artist. The mass of the figure is about twenty tons, and the viburnum branch and the ornament on the clothes are covered with gold leaf. The shape of the figure of a woman with a viburnum branch reflects one of the elements of Ukrainian traditional culture – Berehyna.
Engineers also took care of protecting the monument from the elements: a pendulum weighing one and a half tons is suspended inside the column, which dampens vibrations from wind or earthquakes – the same technology that was used in the construction of the “Motherland” monument. The reinforced concrete frame can withstand a hurricane that tears off roofs and overturns cars. The monument has long become a symbol of independent Ukraine – its image was minted on commemorative coins and printed on postage stamps.