Freedom Square in Kharkiv

Freedom Square (Площа Свободи) in Kharkiv is the 6-th largest city-centre square in Europe. Originally named (1926–1996) Dzerzhinsky Square after Felix Dzerzhinsky, the founder of the Bolshevik secret police (the Cheka, precursor to the KGB), it was renamed after Ukraine became independent in 1991. A monumental statue of Lenin was erected in 1964 and continues to dominate the square. The main part of the square is limited to the west by the statue of Lenin, to the east by Sumska street, to the north by the hotel Kharkiv and to the south by Shevchenko park. It is approximately 690–750 meters long and 96–125 meters wide. The complete square is approximately 11.6 ha or 11.9 ha. An interesting landmark of the square is the Derzhprom building, one of the prime examples of Constructivist architecture.

Queen + Paul Rodgers kicked off their Rock the Cosmos Tour at Freedom Square on September 12, 2008 & gathered 350,000 audience members, the show was recorded for a DVD release, entitled Live in Ukraine, which was released on June 15, 2009.