Welcome to Ukraine

Geography
Ukraine is the state in Eastern Europe, which in the north borders on Belarus, in the north and east on the Russian Federation, in the west on Poland, Slovakia, in the south-west on Hungary, Romania, and Moldova, and in the south it is washed by the Black Sea and Sea of Azov.
The total area of Ukraine is 603,700 sq. km. The population of Ukraine is 50 million. The area spanned in the west-east direction is 1300 km, from north to south 900 km.
The longest river of Ukraine is the Dnipro, which is 2201 km long, of which 981 km flows down trough Ukraine. The largest mountain system in Ukraine is the Carpathian Mountains that extend for more than 270 km and are 100-110 km wide. The highest mount is Hoverla (2061 m).

Climate

Ukraine is located in the temperate climatic zone. The climate is mainly moderate continental. The average temperatures are: winter - from -8 C to + 2 C (from 17,6 F to 35.6 F); summer - from +17 C to + 25 C (from 62.6 F to 77 F).
The subtropical climate prevails in the south of Ukraine (the Crimea, southern coast of the Black Sea).

Political system

Form of Government - Constitutional Democracy
Head of the State - President
Legislative power - Verkhovna Rada
Executive power - Cabinet of Ministers
Judicial power - Constitutional Court
Political Division - 24 oblasts (regions) and 1 autonomous republic (the Crimea)
The official emblem of Ukraine is a golden trident against an azure background. As a state emblem the trident dates back to Kiev Rus when it was the coat of arms of the Rurik dynasty.
Ukraine's official flag is a rectangle composed of a horizontal blue and a yellow stripe. It represents ripe wheat growing under the blue sky.

Nationality, religion

Out of total number of population of Ukraine 80% are Ukrainians, the remainder - Russians, Byelorussians, Jews, Crimean Tatars, Moldovanians, Poles, Hungarians, Romanians, Germans, Bulgarians. The main religion is Christianity (Orthodox, Greek-Catholic and Roman-Catholic), but there also exist Judaism and Muslim religion.

Language

Ukrainian became the official language only in 1990, replacing Russian. Most of the population in eastern Ukraine and in Kyiv speak Russian as the first language, while Ukrainian is the first language in western Ukraine. Although Ukrainians in the political world and local media use both languages, official documents are now in Ukrainian. Not much English is spoken in Ukraine.

Time

Ukraine has two time zones (two hours after Greenwich Mean Time in 24 oblasts (regions) . Daylight savings time is observed from the first Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October when you need to advance your clocks by one hour.

Currency exchange

You can easily change your dollars or other hard currency for Hryvnias in major banks and special exchange points. Changing US dollars for Ukrainian Hryvnias or another currency is legal only at banks, currency exchange desks at hotels and at licensed exchange points. There are a lot of such exchange points throughout the city. Beware of changing money on the streets or with private individuals: it's illegal and it can be dangerous.

Credit cards

Ukraine is a cash economy. Traveler's checks and credit cards are becoming more and more popular in larger cities. The use of credit cards is limited to the better hotels, Western-style restaurants, international airlines and selected stores. American Express, MasterCard and Visa are commonly accepted.

Travel checks

Cash for travel checks can be received in several banks and hotels mostly dealing with foreign tourists.

Grivnas

The National currency is called “Grivna”, the abbreviation is UAH, 1 Grivna consists of 100 kopecks.
There are fakes like in every other currency and the most effective way to check the banknote to put it under a special detector. In case there is no possibility to check it in this way some pieces of advice would be useful for a traveller:
there are banknotes with a value of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100,200 and 500 UAH. Every banknote has a portrait of a famous Ukrainian on one side and architectural monuments on the other side;
banknotes are issued on special paper with watermarks seen in the light;
every banknote is protected by a metal stripe, portraits, letters and some decorated elements are tangible;
the code sign is changed if to view it under different angles, if to view the signs through the light the elements must coincide;

Coins

There are coins in Ukraine of the following value: 1, 2, 5, 10, 25 и 50 kopecks.

Electricity

220 volts, 50 Hz is the standard electrical voltage throughout Ukraine. To use electrical appliances you will need a converter as well as an Eastern-European plug adapter.

Holidays in Ukraine

January 1 - New Year

January 7 - Christmas

March 8 - International Women's Day - Easter

May 1, 2 - International Labor Day

May 9 - Victory Day - Holy Trinity

June 28 - Constitution Day

August 24 - Independence Day

Useful telephone numbers in Kiev

101 - fire
102 - police
103 - emergency
+38 044 377-57-57 - reservation of air tickets
+38 044 377-57-57 - railway ticket reservation
+38 044 377-57-57 - hotel reservation in Kyiv and Ukraine

Transportation

Air Travel

Air Ukraine International, the successor to Aeroflot, operates and provides with regular services throughout the country for Hryvnias and abroad for hard currency. Air Ukraine also offers direct flights to New York and Washington, DC Air Ukraine International began using Boeing aircraft with service to Western Europe in November 1992. A limited but growing number of Western Airlines now operate in Kyiv, including Delta, Lufthansa, British Air, Austrian Air, Malev (Hungarian), CSA (Czech), LOT (Polish), TransAero, KLM, SwissAirline, Air France, SAS and others.

For full information about flights and tickets please contact Pilot (tel. +30 044 377-57-57).

Kyiv has two airports: BORYSPIL Airport serves both international and domestic flights and KYIV (ZHULYANY) Airport serves domestic flights only.

Travel by Train

Much of domestic travel in Ukraine is best accomplished by train, almost all of it- overnight. Trains are cheap, usually punctual and rarely break down. Inter-city cars do not have seats - they have berths on which you sit in the evening and morning and on which you sleep at night. Inter-city trains have seats, but are rarely used by Embassy personnel.

Train cars are divided into four classes. First-class cars ("SV" pronounced as "es veh" - spalny vahon, or sleeper) are the best, with two persons in a compartment, working reading lamps, nicer bedding, extra mirrors, less-worn carpeting and a less raucous ambiance. Certain East German models of first-class trains have three-person compartments, with the middle berth folding down for sleeping and folding back during the daytime. Some of these cars also have sinks with running water in individual compartments! Second-class cars (kupe) feature four-person compartments and provide similar, but shabbier, accommodation. Third-class cars (platz-kartny) have no partitions between sleeping berths, are frequently very dirty, smelly and noisy. Fourth-class cars (zahalny vahon) available only on some routes, offer only seating.

Public transportation

Public transportation in Kyiv is efficient and inexpensive, but overcrowded. The city's network of buses, trolley buses, streetcars and the Metro (subway) covers almost the entire city. Passengers should be ready to accept a good deal of pushing and shoving during the morning and evening rush hours.

Taxis

There are taxi-stands at some busy corners in central Kyiv. Hailing a taxi can be a frustrating and time consuming experience. After a taxi stops, the required destination should be stated; if a driver agrees, a price should be negotiated before getting in a car. Extra precaution should be taken in the evenings, when it is advisable to use only a clearly marked taxi rather than a private car.