Kiev - City Information

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Kiev info

Kyiv (also known as Kiev), is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300.

Kiev is an important industrial, scientific, educational and cultural centre of Eastern Europe. It is home to many high-tech industries, higher education institutions and world-famous historical landmarks. The city has an extensive infrastructure and highly developed system of public transport, including the Kiev Metro. The city has two airports: Boryspil Airport which is served by many international airlines, and the smaller Zhulyany Airport, serving mostly domestic flights and limited flights to nearby countries and developed railroad infrastructure.

Kiev, one of the oldest cities in Eastern Europe, a capital of the 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.

The city prospered again during the Russian Empire's industrial revolution in the late 19th century. In 1917, after the Ukrainian National Republic declared independence from the Russian Empire, Kiev became its capital. And from 1921 onwards Kiev was an important city of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, and, from 1934, its capital. During World War II, the city again suffered significant damage, but quickly recovered in the post-war years, remaining the third largest city of the Soviet Union. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Ukrainian independence of 1991, Kiev remained the capital of Ukraine.

Modern Kiev is a mix of the old and the new, seen in everything from the architecture to the stores and to the people themselves. Western-style residential complexes, modern nightclubs, classy restaurants and prestigious hotels opened in the centre neighbour on newly restored famous historical architecture complexes and older apartments.

Noteworthy historical architectural landmarks include redecorated Khreshchatyk street and the Independence Square, Andriyivskyy Descent, St. Sophia Cathedral and the Kiev Pechersk Lavra (Monastery of the Caves), which are recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Kiev Pechersk Lavra and the Saint Sophia Cathedral also have high religious importance. They are probably the most famous, attracted pilgrims for centuries and now remain the primary religious centres as well as the major tourist attraction. The above mentioned sites are also part of the Seven Wonders of Ukraine collection. Mariyinsky Palace, several Orthodox churches such as St. Michael's Cathedral, St. Andrew's, St. Vladimir's, the reconstructed Golden Gate and other historical architectural sights of Kiev are world famous.

One of Kiev's widely recognized modern landmarks is the highly visible giant Mother Motherland statue made of titanium standing at the Museum of the Great Patriotic War on the Right bank of the Dnieper River. Other notable sites is the cylindrical Salut hotel, located across from Glory Square and the eternal flame at the World War Two memorial Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and the House with Chimaeras.

Among Kiev's best-known monuments are Mikeshin's statue of Bohdan Khmelnytsky astride his horse located near St. Sophia Cathedral, the venerated Vladimir the Great (St. Vladimir), the baptizer of Rus', overlooking the river above Podil, the monument to Kyi, Schek and Khoryv and Lybid, the legendary founders of the city located at the Dnieper embankment. On Independence Square in the city centre, two monuments elevate two of the city protectors; the historic protector of Kiev Michael Archangel atop a reconstruction of one of the old city's gates and a modern invention, the goddess-protector Berehynia atop a tall column.

Kiev's theatres include: Kiev Opera House, Ivan Franko National Academic Drama Theatre, Lesya Ukrainka National Academic Theater of Russian Drama, the Kiev Puppet Theater, October Palace, National Philharmonic of Ukraine and others.

Kiev is a home for the professional and amateur sports clubs: Kyiv Dynamo, Kyiv Arsenal and FC Obolon Kyiv which play in the Ukrainian Premier League

Other significant cultural centres include the Dovzhenko Film Studios, and the Kiev Circus. The most important of the city's many museums are the Kiev State Historical Museum, Museum of the Great Patriotic War, the National Art Museum, the Museum of Western and Oriental Art, the Pinchuk Art Centre and the National Museum of Russian art.

Kiev is located on both sides of the Dnieper River divides the city into the Right Bank and the Left Bank areas, connetced by Kiev metro. Most of the Kiev's attractions as well as the majority of business and governmental institutions are located at the right bank. The eastern Left Bank is predominantly residential. The city is adjoined by the mouth of the Desna River and the Kiev Reservoir in the north. Both the Dnieper and Desna rivers are navigable at Kiev, although regulated by the reservoir shipping locks and limited by winter freeze-over. Kiev has a humid continental climate. Snow cover usually lies from mid-November to the end of March.

The city is subordinated directly to the national-level branches of the Government of Ukraine. the Head of City Administration—the leading executive position is held by a directly elected, rather than appointed, figure, who is also the Head of City Council—the Mayor of Kiev. Administratively, the city is divided into "raions" ("districts"), which have their own locally elected governments with jurisdiction over a limited scope of affairs. Presently, there are 10 raions in Kiev.

More about Kiev at Wikipedia

UKRAINE: Kiev Sevastopol Poltava Simferopol Nikolaev Odessa Dnepropetrovsk Vinnitsa Chernigov Kirovograd Sumy Krivoy Rog Lugansk Kherson Kharkov Mariupol Donetsk Dneprodzerzhinsk Melitopol Cherkasy Zaporozhye Yalta Kerch Yevpatoria BELARUS: Minsk Vitebsk Mogilev Grodno Gomel KYRGYZSTAN: Bishkek LATVIA: Riga MOLDOVA: Chisinau RUSSIA: Moscow Ekaterinburg Volgograd Volzhsky Saratov Gelendzhik Sochi Samara Novosibirsk St.Petersburg Ufa Penza Stavropol Kazan

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