Ukraine - Country Information
Ukraine info
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe that borders the Russian Federation to the east and northeast, Belarus to the northwest, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary to the west, Romania and Moldova to the southwest, and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south and southeast, respectively. It was formerly known as The Ukraine.
Ukraine is a unitary state composed of 24 oblasts (provinces), one autonomous republic (Crimea), and two cities with special status: Kiev, its capital and largest city, and Sevastopol, which houses the Russian Black Sea Fleet under a leasing agreement. Ukraine is a republic under a semi-presidential system with separate legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Ukraine continues to maintain the second largest military in Europe, after that of Russia.
Established by the Varangians in the 9th century, the medieval state of Kievan Rus', the first East Slavic state, emerged as a powerful nation in the middle ages until it disintegrated in the 12th century. By the middle of the 14th century, Ukrainian territories were under the rule of three external powers—the Golden Horde, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Kingdom of Poland. After the Great Northern War (1700–1721) Ukraine was divided between a number of regional powers and, by the 19th century, the largest part of Ukraine was integrated into the Russian Empire with the rest under Austro-Hungarian control. After a chaotic period of incessant warfare and several attempts at independence (1917–21) following World War I and the Russian Civil War, it emerged on December 30, 1922 as one of the founding republics of the Soviet Union. The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic's territory was enlarged westward shortly before and after World War II, and southwards in 1954 with the Crimea transfer. In 1945, the Ukrainian SSR became one of the founding members of the United Nations. Ukraine is a republic under a mixed semi-parliamentary semi-presidential system with separate legislative, executive, and judicial branches.
In the current structure of Ukraine's industry a great proposition is occupied by heavy industry, especially, the iron, and steel, machine-building and coal industries. The majority of Ukrainian exports are marketed to the European Union and CIS. Ukraine produces nearly all types of transportation vehicles and spacecraft. Antonov airplanes and KrAZ trucks are exported to many countries. Since independence, Ukraine has maintained its own space agency, the National Space Agency of Ukraine (NSAU). Ukraine became an active participant in scientific space exploration and remote sensing missions. The country imports most energy supplies, especially oil and natural gas, and to a large extent depends on Russia as its energy supplier. The World Bank classifies Ukraine as a middle-income state. Growing sectors of the Ukrainian economy include the information technology (IT) market. Ukraine is one of the world's most productive farming regions and is known as "Europe’s granary". There are two main branches of agricultural production in Ukraine : crop production and animal husbandry. Among the crops grown in Ukraine are sugar beet, wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn, sunflower, a large variety of grain cultures, fruit and vegetables. The most widespread branches of animal husbandry are dairy and beef cattle breeding and pig raising.
Ukraine occupies 8th place in the world by the number of tourists visiting, according to the World Tourism Organisation rankings. It has mountain ranges - the Carpathian Mountains suitable for skiing, hiking, fishing and hunting. The coastline on the Black Sea is a popular summer destination for vacationers. It has mountain ranges - the Carpathian Mountains suitable for skiing, hiking, fishing and hunting. The coastline on the Black Sea is a popular summer destination for vacationers. Ukraine has vineyards where they produce native wines, ruins of ancient castles, historical parks, Orthodox and Catholic churches as well as a few mosques and synagogues. Kiev, the country's capital city has many unique structures such as Saint Sophia Cathedral and broad boulevards. There are other cities well-known to tourists such as the harbour town Odessa and the old city of Lviv in the west. The Crimea, a little "continent" of its own, is a popular vacation destination for tourists for swimming or suntaning on the Black Sea with its warm climate, rugged mountains, plateaus and ancient ruins. Cities there include: Sevastopol and Yalta - location of the peace conference at the end of World War II. Visitors can also take cruise tours by ship on Dnieper River from Kiev to the Black Sea coastline. Ukrainian cuisine has a long history and offers a wide variety of original dishes.
> The Seven Wonders of Ukraine are the seven historical and cultural monuments of Ukraine. They include: National dendrology park "Sofiyivka" in Uman, Cherkasy, Oblast; National Kyiv-Pechersk Historic-Cultural Preserve; National Historic-Architectural Preserve "Kamianets" in Kamianets-Podilskyi, Khmelnytskyi Oblast; National Historic-Cultural Preserve "Khortytsia" in Zaporozhye; National Preserve "Khersones Tavriysky" in Sevastopol; National Historic-Cultural Preserve "Sofia Kyivska"; National Historical-Architectural Preserve "Khotynska Fortetsia" in Chernivtsi Oblast.The country is home to 46 million people, 77.8 percent of whom are ethnic Ukrainians, with sizable minorities of Russians (17%), Belarusians and Romanians. The Ukrainian language is the official language in Ukraine. Russian is also widely spoken. The dominant religion in the country is Eastern Orthodox Christianity, which has heavily influenced Ukrainian architecture, literature and music.
Music is a major part of Ukrainian culture, with a long history and many influences. From traditional folk music, to classical and modern rock, Ukraine has produced a long list of internationally recognized musical talent including Tchaikovsky and Okean Elzy. Elements from traditional Ukrainian folk music made their way into Western music and even into modern Jazz.
The traditional Ukrainian diet includes chicken, pork, beef, fish and mushrooms. Ukrainians also tend to eat a lot of potatoes, grains, fresh and pickled vegetables. Popular traditional dishes include varenyky (boiled dumplings with mushrooms, potatoes, sauerkraut, cottage cheese or cherries), borscht (soup made of beets, cabbage and mushrooms or meat) and holubtsy (stuffed cabbage rolls filled with rice, carrots and meat). Ukrainian specialties also include Chicken Kiev and Kiev Cake. Ukrainians drink stewed fruit, juices, milk, buttermilk (they make cottage cheese from this), mineral water, tea and coffee, beer, wine and horilka.
More about Ukraine 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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