What happens when you bribe your way inside Kiev’s Mother Motherland statue
Keen traveller Jake Ritari got the opportunity to take some great photos after slipping the right man a few sneaky coins
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Your support makes all the difference.Have you ever found the key to sneaking into somewhere out of bounds is a cheeky “donation”? Even if it’s just a few pounds?
That’s what Jake Ritari, an engineer from Washington state, discovered when he took a chance with a security guard at the Mother Motherland statue in Kiev, after finding the route to the top of the monument was closed.
The 62-metre-high statue is an important feature of the Ukrainian capital's skyline. And Ritari discovered it looks pretty cool from the inside, too.
A series of photos he took after bribing his way into the monument show him climbing a ladder inside one of its arms, and the view from a secure area behind the shield.
Ritari got inside the statue after taking a punt and offering a security guard 200 Ukrainian hryvnia (£3), the cost of two tickets when the monument is open. “I don’t know if it’s technically a bribe at that point, but I paid the guy directly instead of paying at the front desk,” Ritari said.
After a short climb he was out in the open and seeing Kiev from behind the statue’s giant metal shield – £3 well spent.
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