Monument to Yurii Kondratiuk

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Description

Next to the Aviation and Cosmonautics Museum (the former building of Poltava’s First Fire Brigade), a memorial plaque was unveiled in 1997 in honour of Yurii Kondratiuk (Oleksandr Shargei) — an outstanding Ukrainian space scientist, engineer and one of the pioneers of theoretical cosmonautics. The event was timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of his birth. The monument was the first to be erected in his honour in his homeland.

At the centre of the composition is a stele comprising two polygonal slabs bearing a bust of Yurii Kondratiuk. In the upper left-hand part of the high relief is a depiction of the Moon — a symbol of his scientific research and developments related to the exploration of outer space.

The architectural design of the plinth was created by M. Kalinin (1948–2001) — a Candidate of Architectural Sciences, associate professor and member of the National Union of Architects of Ukraine. The sculptural design was created by V.  Bilous (1948–2003), a Ukrainian sculptor who had been working in Poltava since 1973.

The composition of the memorial has symbolic significance. According to the creators’ concept, the two regular polygons represent the two biographies of one man — Oleksandr Shargei and Yurii Kondratiuk. They reflect the complexity and fragmentation of the scientist’s life journey, whose real name and scientific legacy only became known to the wider public much later.

The memorial is an important part of Poltava’s historical and cultural landscape and serves as a reminder of this local man’s contribution to the development of global space exploration.

Speciality

In 2017, to mark the 120th anniversary of Yurii Kondratiuk’s birth, another monument to the eminent scientist was erected on the grounds of the Yurii Kondratiuk Poltava Polytechnic National University. It was designed by V. Holub and A. Koniuk.