Radnarkomivska Street (Council of People’s Commissioners Street)

The street was established at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries and changed its name several times. Before the revolution it was called Starokladbyshensky (Old Cemetry), Kasperovsky, Miro­nositskyy (Mirrh Bearing) Lane. Its modern name was given to the street in the 1920s when it was home to the Council of People’s Commissioners of Ukraine and other governmental institutions.

A monument to those in love designed by young Kharkiv architects was put up in a small park at the corner of Pushkinska and Radnarkomivska Streets. It is said that if lovers kiss under the monument, they will love each other forever. But the major attraction of this street is a row of buildings designed by A. Beketov.

The Palace for Culture of Kharkiv Regional Department of Ministry of Internal Affairs, a former mansion of the Alchevskys (designed by A. Beketov, 1893; 13, Radnarkomivska St.) was constructed following the design of Italian estates of the late Renaissance. The house was surrounded by a garden where the first-in-the-world monument to the great Ukrain­ian poet T. Shevchenko was installed (sculptured by V. Beklemishev). After the bankruptcy and the tragic death of A. Alchevsky, his family had to sell the mansion. The new owner did not want to have a monument to the poet in his garden and gave it to the Alchevkys. Today the monument is exhibited in the Taras Shevchenko National Museum in Kiev.

Since 1995, the Palace has been home to the Museum of Police. The collection of the museum describes the history of Kharkiv law enforcement bodies. Some of its most intere­sting exhibits include forged money and documents, as well as improvised weapons confiscated by the police officers from the offenders.

In 1995 a monument to the policemen killed in their struggle with the criminal world was erected near the Palace for Culture, and in 1997 the Chapel of the God’s Chief Captain Michael was opened.