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картины фотографий киевской Украины
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photos pictures of Kiev also known as Kyiv city of close to 3 million people situated on the Dnipro River, is the bustling capital of Ukraine. Ancient Kievan Rus, which reached its greatest period of ascendancy during the 11th and 12th centuries, was a center of trade routes between the Baltic and the Mediterranean. The city of Kyiv and the power of Kievan Rus were destroyed in 1240 by Mongol invaders and the lands of Kievan Rus were divided into principalities located to the west and north: Galicia, Volynia, Muscovy and later, Poland, Lithuania, and Russia. Once a powerful force on the European scene, Ukraine's fate in modern times has been decided in far-off capitals. As a result, modern Ukrainian history, for the most part, has been defined by foreign occupation
 


As you leave the St. Sophia museum, turn left onto vul. Volodimirska which opens onto St. Sophia Square. The equestrian statue standing in the square's center is in honor of the great Cossack Hetman (leader), politician and military hero, Bohdan Khmelnitsky (1595-1657). It was designed by well-known St. Petersburg sculptor Mikhail Mikeshin and was erected in 1888 through donations. Follow the street running down the right-hand side of the square with the statue to your left and a small park to your right. At the end of this street (3 blocks) you will come to Saint Michael's Square. The square takes its name from the Mykhailivsky Zolotoverkhyi Monastery (Michael's Monastery of the Golden Roof), and the cathedral with the same name, which used to stand here. Saint Michael was considered Kiev's patron saint and is depicted on the coat of arms of the city.

The cathedral, as well as the monastery, was founded on this site by Kiev Prince Sviatopolk in 1108. It survived the brutal Mongol invasions and the years of Polish and Lithuanian rule, but, unfortunately, not the Soviets. The Cathedral was destroyed in 1934-35 to make way for the building on your left of the Central Committee of the Ukrainian Communist Party (1939). Today, this massive Stalinist looking structure on your houses Ukrainian governmental offices. To the right of this building is the upper entrance to Kiev's Funicular (cable car). Built in 1905, it is a quick, exciting, and inexpensive ride (the cost is the same as the fare for a car, except on Sunday, when rides are free) down to the Podil (Lower Town), the old trading quarter. This two minute trip will give any child a thrill and provides an excellent view of the Dnieper River and the Left Bank of the city. It leaves you at Poshtova Ploshcha, Post Office Square. Here you will find the Poshtova Ploshcha Metro Station, on the blue line, as well as the Kiev Richkovy Vokzal (River Station), River Passenger Terminal. River boats operate here from early spring to late fan. Now, let's continue our excursion of Kiev's Upper City. On St. Michael's Square notice the stone and metal statue dedicated in 1993 to the memory of the 7-12 million Ukrainian peasants killed by the Stalinist regime during the Great Famine of 1932-'33. Turn right off the square to 6 Three Saints' Street. Here is the Refectory (1713), a white stone church with a single wooden cupola. Once, it was part of the Michael's Monastery of the Golden Roof. Daily services are at 7 AM and 5 PM. On your right, as you head down Three Saints' Street, is St. Alexander's Catholic Church, named after the Russian Emperor Alexander 1. It was built in 1817-1842 to commemorate the victory over Napoleon. Its style is similar to Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome. During Soviet rule, the Church was drastically modified and used as a planetarium. Reconstruction has recently been completed. Services are held daily. Weekdays: 7:30 AM & 10 PM in Polish; 7 PM in Ukrainian. Sundays: 7:30 AM and 12 noon in Polish; 9 AM in French; 10 AM and 7 PM in Ukrainian English.

From its northern end of European Square to Bessarabska  Square and its southern terminus, Kiev's most central, most famous and best people-watching street is not even 2km long. Despite what has been called the most impressive unbroken string of Stalinist architecture anywhere, Khreschatyk's gently curving design and wide chestnut-lined sidewalks make it a lovely place for a relaxing stroll. The trees also provide welcome shade during hot summer months, although on weekends and holidays when the street becomes a pedestrian area many prefer to frolic in the street among street performers and Teletubbies. It's hard to believe that this area was once a valley surrounded by a dense forest. The valley's name was Khreschata, meaning crossed, because of the many ravines that crossed it. Now there are plans, or at least rumors of plans, to turn the entire underground area of Khreschatyk into shopping centers. Malls already exist at Bessarabska and metros Khreschatyk and Maidan Nezalezhnosti, and another is definitely in the works for European Square as well. As for above-ground shopping, TsUM - the central department store - is actually becoming rather modern and has little to show of its Soviet past. Perhaps in an act of poetic justice the whole street will collapse under this retail strain and again revert to a valley. In the old days the royalty of Kyiv liked to hunt here - but for the foreseeable future the only hunting done on Khreschatyk will be for souvenirs, clothes and pretty Ukrainian women.   

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