The design for the station was chosen in an open competition held in Ukraine; the entry submitted by the team of E. I. Katonin, V. K. Skugarev, and G. E. Golubev placed first among 73 others and it became the final design.

[1] Kievskaya features low, square pylons faced with white marble and surmounted by large mosaics by A.V.

Both the mosaics and the arches between the pylons are edged with elaborate gold-colored trim.

With the completion of the segment of track between Belorusskaya and Park Kultury in 1954 the Koltsevaya Line became fully operational with trains running continuously around the loop for the first time.

One of the station's entrances is topped by a reproduction of an Art Nouveau Paris Metro entrance by Hector Guimard, given by the Régie autonome des transports parisiens in 2006[2] in exchange for an artwork by Russian artist Ivan Lubennikov installed at Madeleine station in Paris.