Ukraine is located in Eastern Europe with a land border with Romania, Moldova, Russia, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Belarus. To the south, the country has a coast facing the Black Sea. Ukraine is the second largest country in Europe after Russia.
| Capital: | Kiev |
| Biggest city: | Kiev |
| State: | republic, member of the CIS |
| Language: | ukrainska |
| Religion: | orthodox christian |
| Surface: | 603 700 km² |
| Population: | 45.5 million (2013) |
| Population density: | 76 residents per km² |
| Life expectancy: | 68 years |
| Illiteracy: | 1% |
| Currency: | hryvnia (UAH) 1 hryvnia = 0.31 kr |
| GDP per capita: | $ 6,700 (2010) |
| Time difference: | +1 hour |
| Electricity: | 220 V AC, 50Hz |
| National Day: | August 24th |
| Country area code: | 380 |
| 2-Letter country abbreviation: | UA (See more abbreviations on Abbreviationfinder) |
| Business: | service sector 46%, industry 33%, agriculture 21% |
| Climate: | temperate; cold winters and mild summers; warmer on the Black Sea coast |
At the end of December 1918, Ukraine was occupied by Bolshevik forces, and the Ukrainian SSR, proclaimed the year before, became a nationwide Soviet republic. Ukrainian SSR was one of the first republics to become part of the Soviet Union in 1922. The Ukrainian capital was formerly Kharkov but was replaced in 1934 by Kiev. After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine became an independent state.
During the Soviet era, Ukraine was the holiday paradise of the high communist leaders; it is a Mediterranean climate on the Black Sea, even though the winters are colder. Popular tourist destinations are Lviv, Kiev, Odessa and Crimea with its Riviera.
On April 26, 1986, a major reactor failure occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant north of Kiev. The Soviet Union first tried to keep the world a secret that the accident had occurred. Large areas around the power plant have been evacuated on population, and the area closest to the zero point (where the accident occurred) will be dangerous to stay in for hundreds of years.
WORLD HERITAGE
The following objects in Ukraine are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The year in which the item was added to the list is indicated in parentheses.
- Sofia Cathedral and St. Peter’s Monastery in Kiev (1990)
- Lviv City Historic Center (1998)
- Four measuring points in Struve’s meridian arc (2005)
- Beech forests in the Carpathians (2007)
- Building complex in Chernivtsi (2011)
- The ruined city of Chersonesos in southwestern Crimea (2013)
- Wooden churches in the Carpathians, built during the 16th and 18th centuries (2013)
ELECTRICAL OUTLET
Electricity and electrical outlets in Ukraine
Voltage: 220 V
Frequency: 50 Hz
Type of plug: C
Need an adapter: No, you do not need an adapter.
CLIMATE AND WEATHER
Weather in Kiev
| Climate | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Christmas | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| Average temperature °C | -5 | -3 | 2 | 8 | 15 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 14 | 8 | 2 | -2 |
| Day °C | -2 | 1 | 6 | 12 | 20 | 23 | 24 | 23 | 19 | 12 | 4 | 0 |
| Night °C | -7 | -7 | -2 | 4 | 10 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 9 | 4 | -1 | -4 |
| Rain (mm) | 40 | 40 | 40 | 50 | 50 | 100 | 100 | 60 | 70 | 40 | 50 | 50 |
| Rainy days | 9 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 9 |
| Soltim / day | 11 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
Yalta
Yalta is a city and seaside resort on the Black Sea coast of the Crimean peninsula in southern Ukraine. It has 80,552 residents (2005).
Yalta became the Russian Empire’s most classic seaside resort in the 19th century when Tsar Alexander II had his summer residence Livadia built there. During the Soviet era, the resort developed even more in the direction of a health resort. Aristocrats like Leo Tolstoy and Anton Chekhov spent a lot of time here.
The world’s longest wire bus line, over 80 kilometers long, runs from Yalta to the Crimean capital Simferopol.
Kiev
According to Countryaah, Kiev is the capital of Ukraine and officially has 2,660,401 residents (2005). But the city also has many unregistered residents so the actual number of residents can be as large as 4 million
After the Russian Revolution, Kiev briefly became the capital of an independent Ukrainian state before Ukraine was incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1921. In 1934, it replaced Kharkiv as the capital of the Soviet Republic of Ukraine. Within the Soviet Union, Kiev was the third largest city after Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Kiev is built on both sides of the Dnieper River which flows all the way down to the Black Sea. In Kiev there is an inland climate, which means hot summers and cold winters.
Lviv
Lviv is a city in the western part of Ukraine, located at the foot of the Carpathians, about 80 kilometers from the border with Poland. In older Swedish usage, the German name Lemberg was used with a Swedish pronunciation. Lviv is located on the river Poltva, a tributary of the Bug River, and has 735,000 residents (2007).
Lviv has in turn belonged to the Kingdom of Kiev, Poland-Lithuania, Austria-Hungary, Russia, Poland, the Soviet Union and today Ukraine. The city was temporarily conquered and looted by Swedish troops in 1704.
Due to the fact that it belonged to Poland, the city has a much more Central European profile and appearance than other cities in its vicinity. Lviv was formerly an important Polish city of culture, but after the end of World War II when Poland’s borders changed, a large part of the Polish population and Polish cultural heritage were moved to Poland’s new western areas, especially to the city of Wroclaw which was taken over from Germany.
Lviv is the most important city in the Ukrainian-speaking western Ukraine and has many different industries. The city has a university founded in 1661 and a large number of notable buildings, including churches from the Renaissance.
Since 1998, the city has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Odessa
Odessa is a city in southern Ukraine with 1,080,000 residents (2007). The city is named after a Greek colony in antiquity called Odessos.
Odessa is located on the Black Sea a few kilometers east of the mouth of the river Dniester. It is Ukraine’s fifth largest city and the country’s most important trading city. The city is also the largest on the Black Sea. Long ago, Odessa was Russia’s third largest city after Moscow and St. Petersburg.
The architecture of Odessa is strongly influenced by France and Italy and gives a continental impression.
Poltava
Poltava is a city in central Ukraine with 313,400 residents (2004). It is located in a fertile area on the river Vorskla, and developed during the 20th century from a center for trade in agricultural products to an industrial city. In Poltava, 1709 was also one of the most important battles in Sweden’s history.
In 1700, five states declared war on Sweden. The whole war had since gone Sweden’s way and all the states had withdrawn, except Russia. Charles XII’s army entering Russia was significantly larger than that fought at Poltava. Charles XII’s first goal was to challenge Tsar Peter to battle in Moscow, but the cold and the intensifying Russian resistance caused many soldiers to freeze to death. The Russians burned their villages and all the Swedes found was ashes. They found no food and many soldiers died of starvation, cold or disease. The Swedish army, which had left Saxony 18 months earlier with 60,000 experienced, well-equipped warriors, could only pose 17,000 soldiers against the Russians’ 40,000 before the battle. They only had ammunition for one more battle, there was a shortage of food, ammunition and morale. Despite this, they tried to surprise the Russian outposts, which failed.
Pripjat
Pripyat is an abandoned city in northern Ukraine, near the border with Belarus. It was abandoned in 1986 after the Chernobyl disaster, and had about 50,000 residents before it was abandoned.
Pripjat was built in connection with the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, and was an open city before the accident. The proximity to the nuclear power plant was not seen as a problem, as nuclear power plants were seen by the Soviets as safer than other types of power plants. Nuclear power plants were presented as a sign of what Soviet engineering could achieve, and nuclear power was used for peaceful purposes. The saying “the peaceful atom” was popular at that time. Originally, the power plant was to be built just 25 kilometers from Kiev, but the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences expressed concern that it would be located so close to the city, so Pripyat and the power plant were built about 100 kilometers away instead.
Until recently, the city was practically a museum documenting the end of the Soviet era. Homes, bathing areas, hospitals and all other buildings were abandoned, along with everything that was inside, including toys, clothes, records and photographs and more. The residents were only allowed to bring documents, books and clothes that were not contaminated.
However, the houses were completely looted in the early 2000s, nothing of value was left, even things like toilet seats were stolen. As the houses are not maintained, the roofs leak and in the spring the rooms are waterlogged. It is not uncommon to find trees growing on roofs and even inside houses. This means that the whole city will probably be in ruins within a couple of decades.
The city and the surrounding area will not be habitable for centuries. The worst radioactive isotope will take 300 years to become harmless. Even though there are no people living in the area, animals have started to move there, and thrive due to the fact that there are no people there. There are as yet no statistics showing whether the animals’ reproductive habits or lifespan have changed.
The area around the city is delimited by police checks. However, it is relatively easy to obtain a permit to enter the area together with a tourist guide, who is on hand to ensure that nothing is stolen or vandalized. It is dangerous to be in the city for a long time without a Geiger meter. All doors in all buildings are open to reduce radiation, and most can be visited with a guide. In early 1986, shortly after the disaster, the city of Slavutych began to be built to replace Pripyat.
Sevastopol
Sevastopol is a city on the southernmost tip of the Crimean peninsula in the Black Sea in southern Ukraine with 379,200 residents (2007).
The city has a strategic location and an excellent natural harbor in the Gulf of Severnaja. It was previously the base of the Soviet Union’s Black Sea Fleet and is today Ukraine’s largest naval base, but also the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s base as Russia leases the naval base of Ukraine under an agreement that runs until 2019. The city is also an important tourist destination. Worth seeing in the city is, in addition to the many marine museums, also the large panorama (a built-up stage with equipment and other museum objects, which imperceptibly in the fund turns into a panoramic painting), which shows the defense of the Malakov bastion during the Crimean War. The surroundings around the city are considered to have a noticeable nature. Until 1996, Sevastopol was closed to foreign tourists. Industries include, in addition to trade, transport and tourism, industry and food production. The majority of the population is Russian-speaking.
Administratively, Sevastopol and its surroundings belong to Sevastopol municipality, which is administratively separate from the rest of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.