The “Memory of the Heroes of Kruty” memorial stands near the Kruty railway station and the village of Pamyatne in Nizhyn Raion. It is dedicated to the battle of 29 January 1918, when several hundred young Ukrainian soldiers—cadets of the military school, students, and gymnasium pupils—delayed the advance of Bolshevik troops on Kyiv. For Ukrainians, Kruty became a symbol of sacrifice, and the memorial is a place where thousands of people come every year at the end of January.
What Happened at Kruty
After several days of fighting for Bakhmach, Ukrainian units retreated to Kruty station. There on 29 January 1918, cadets of the 1st Ukrainian Military School, the Student Battalion, and small detachments of free Cossacks engaged in battle with Muravyov’s much larger forces. The battle lasted several hours and allowed time to be won for the defense of Kyiv. Some of the young men were captured and executed. Those who were found were solemnly buried in March 1918 at Askold’s Grave in Kyiv.
During Soviet times, Kruty was silenced about, and the graves at Askold’s Grave were destroyed. Memory began to be restored only in the 1990s: the People’s Movement erected a wooden cross here, and in 1998 a burial mound with a stele appeared.
What the Memorial Is Like
The memorial complex was opened on 25 August 2006. The author is architect Anatolii Haidamaka. The center of the composition is a 7-meter-high earthen mound topped by a 10-meter red column. It resembles the columns of the Red Building of Kyiv University, from which most of the Kruty students came. At the foot of the mound is a chapel, and nearby a lake shaped like a cross has been dug.
In 2008, the memorial was supplemented with seven carriages and an open platform of a military echelon—the kind the young men traveled to the front in. Five of the carriages house a museum exhibition about the battle and its participants.
How to Get There
The memorial is located near Kruty station on the Kyiv — Nizhyn — Bakhmach railway, between Nizhyn and Bakhmach. You can get here by suburban train or car. The trip can conveniently be combined with visits to Bakhmach, Borzna, and Baturyn.
