About Ukraine

Welcome to the best Kiev guide [index.html] > About Ukraine KIEV GUIDE Planning a trip to Kiev About Ukraine Embassies of Ukraine Embassies in Ukraine Visas ................................... Kiev Basics Accommodation Communication Emergencies Healthcare Money Map of Kiev Services Shopping Sightseeing ................................... Transport Airlines Driving & Car Rental City transport & taxis Trains & buses ................................... Food & Drinks Bars and nightclubs Cafes Restaurants ................................... Entertainment Culture venues Cinema Events calendar Sports and leisure TV, radio and other media ................................... Work & Studies Business Trade Jobs Studies ................................... Community Charity Communities ................................... Toolbox Eng-Ukr dictionary Eng-Rus dictionary Backgrounds Gallery Survey new Useful links www.TryUkraine.com The do-it-yourself guide to Ukraine. Travel, business, work, and study opportunities in Ukraine. Facts and figures, tours and vacations, travel tips, internships for Russian and Ukrainian speakers, and over 600 photos of places to visit. Ukrainian cities www.sova.com.ua Dnipropetrovsk www.gorod.dp.ua Donetsk region www.info.dn.ua Odessa www.odessaglobe.com About Ukraine Ukraine Independent from Soviet Russia since 24.08. 1991 Add 2 hours to GMT upon arrival Official language is Ukrainian Major religion is Ukrainian orthodox Christianity Population is 48 million people About 3 million live in the capital city Kiev Ukraine is the biggest country of Europe (603,700 square km) Ukraine is divided into 24 regions. Borders: Poland, Russia, Belorussia, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Moldova Summer time one hour forward in March, winter one hour back in October Big cities: Kharkov, Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk, Odessa, Lvov, Yalta Ukraine is a parliamentary country, current president Viktor Yushchenko Local currency is called Hryvnya (UAH) also spelled Hryvnia or Hryvna Climate is continental, subtropical in southern parts at the Black Sea. Kiev (Kyiv) is believed to have been founded around 482 A.D. Major Cities of Ukraine Lvov is one of the World Architectural Monuments protected by UNESCO. It is located near the border with Poland and the architecture is influenced strongly by the proximity to this neighboring country. Lvov is some 550 kilometers far from Kiev and has population of about 730,000. It is an attractive historical and cultural destination for tourists and artists. Kharkov is Ukraines second biggest city and used to be the capital of the Soviet Ukraine between 1917 - 1934. Kharkov is the biggest transport node of Ukraine and the scientific and industrial potential of East Ukraine. Kharkov is considered to be a big educational and cultural centre famous for outstanding poets, artists, actors etc who have made considerable contribution to the national culture. Odessa is the biggest port of Ukraine located on the Black Sea about 480 kilometers south from Kiev. It has a population of over 1 million people. The city regularly hosts many cultural events and conferences and there are also several consulates and trade missions of other countries. It is a good weekend trip destination from Kiev combining culture and relax at the beach. Poltava is immortalized in Pushkin's long poem of the same name, which describes the battle between the invading army of Karl XII of Sweden, his Cossak allies led by Hetman Ivan Mazepa and the Russian army commanded by Peter the Great in 1709. There is a museum dedicated to this event with a rather small but interesting exhibition. Apart from the historical events and museums that document them, Poltava has little else to see on offer. Yalta is an administrative and resort centre on the coast of the Black Sea. You can reach the city by car, bus, train or boat or you can fly to Simferopol and then take a taxi or bus to Yalta. The place is known for the 1945 Yalta conference, sometimes also called Crimean conference attended by President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Churchill and Generalissimo Stalin. Aside from that it is the most popular summer destination. Chernobyl - the scene of one of the worst nuclear disasters in history. Although marked as one of the most toxic places on Earth, it attracts many tourists. There are organised day tours from Kiev on offer for those who want to see with their own eyes. The area is deserted and visitors must obtain a permission to enter the zone. The Chernobyl Disaster The world's worst nuclear reactor disaster occurred at the Chernobyl Power Station in the USSR (now Ukraine) on April 26, 1986. Thirty-one people died at the time, and 28,200 sq. km.(10,900 sq. miles) of land and 1.7 million people were exposed to radiation. During a routine test, reactor number 4 was operating on very low power, which made it unstable due to the reactor’s design. A sudden surge of power resulted in two explosions, which wrecked the reactor core and blasted a hole in the roof of the power station. It's not known how many of the estimated 200,000 people involved in the clean-up operation died in the following the disaster, as no systematic records were kept. Map of Ukraine Ukrainian Holidays New Year 1-Jan Christmas 7-Jan Women's Day 8-Mar Easter 27-Apr Labour Day 1,2-May Victory Day 9-May Pentecost 15-Jun Constitution 28-Jun Independence 24-Aug Unofficial Holidays Old New Year 14-Jan St. Valentine 14-Feb April Fool's 1-Apr Kiev Days last May wknd Youth Day 24-Ju Ukrainian Habits Ukrainians are generous, be ready to tour your friends' houses for dinners and drinks. Show good manners by taking off your shoes when you enter the house. You won't go wrong with bringing a small present as a thanks for inviting you. When you host a party and make a toast to thank your guests for coming, they might think it's time to leave so save that for the end. For heartbreakers - remember the ring is worn on right hand here and flowers are given in odd numbers! Crimea Flights to Crimea, to Simferopol, start at 30$ one way (excl. taxes, AeroSvit and UM Air) and take under 2 hours. Trains to Simferopol or Sevastopol are significantly cheaper (60 Hr one way) but take approx 12 hours. In peak time buy train tickets well in advance (2 weeks). There is bus or trolleybus connection between Simferopol and Yalta and Sevastopol. An apartment for two is usually 30-50$ a night. We found Alushta the nicest place to stay. Web www.go2kiev.com advertise | contacts | links | sitemap | terms of service Copyright 2007 Abea Ltd All Rights Reserved. Last updated: 20/01/2007 04:38:38 GO2KIEV - the best Kiev guide.