General information about Ukraine

Ukraine is bordered by the Russian Federation, Belarus, Poland, the Slovak Republic, Hungary, Romania and Moldova. It is a varied country with mountains in the west, plains in the centre and breathtaking Black Sea views in the south. In the South Ukraine is washed by the Black and Azov Seas. The climate is generally temperate or continental. Only in the Crimea, does a subtropical, Mediterranean climate exist. The average low temperature in January is -7C, the average high +19C, in July.

The area of Ukraine is 603,700 sq. km, the population is about 52,000,000. Ukraine is home to a variety of nationalities: Ukrainians, Russians, Belarussians, Jews, Moldovans, Poles, Hungarians, Romanians, Tatars and Greeks are the groups that are predominantly represented.

Kyiv is the capital of Ukraine and the third-largest city in the CIS. Kiev occupies more than 790 sq. km. and sits on both banks of the Dnipro River. Its population is about 3,000,000. Kiev is the political, cultural, scientific and industrial center of Ukraine. Kiev is situated on the Dniper River, the third biggest river in Europe. The right bank is the administrative, business and cultural part of Kiev. Almost all theatres, museums, churches, universities, political and government institutes, historical monuments are situated here. On the left bank you can see many high floors buildings, industrial centers. Kiev is also the cradle of Russian civilisation, the origin of the Kyiv Rus State founded in the eighth and ninth centuries. Kiev is more than 1500 years old. Its churches, buildings and monuments reflect the history of the city. There more than 3000 monuments of architecture and history in Kiev.

Kreshchatik is the main street of Kiev. Week-ends and holidays Krestchatik is closed for the traffic and opened for walking.

Official language: Ukrainian language, but Russian is widely used.

Kiev is divided into 10 districts : Golosiivsky, Desnyansky, Dniprovsky, Obolonsky, Pechersky, Podilsky, Svyatoshinsky, Kharkivsky, Solomyansky, Shevchenkivsky.

The biggest cities: Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Odesa, Lviv.