Ukraine

Area: 233,000 sq. mi..
Cities: Capital--Kiev (often transliterated as Kyiv from Ukrainian, pop. 2.6 million. Other cities--Kharkiv, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, Lviv.
Terrain: A vast plain bounded by the Carpathian Mountains in the southwest and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov in the south.
Climate: Continental temperate, except in southern Crimea, which has a subtropical climate.

Official holidays

1 January - New Year

7 January - Christmas
8 March - Women's Day
1 May - Day of Unity of Peoples of Ukraine
9 May - Victory Day

28 June - Constitution Day
24 August - Independence Day

Time

The time in Ukraine is set two hours ahead of the Universal time in Greenwich (GMT +02:00).

It is altered twice a year (the watches are set one hour forward in the last week of March and one hour backward in the last week of October).

Average incomes in Kiev (per month):

Medical doctor - $55-$95

Teacher - $55

Accountant – from $95

Engineer - $75-95

Secretary - from $95

Cost of living for a woman with 1 child is around $150  per month.

Average prices in Ukraine (Kiev):

Bus ticket - $0.10

Subway - $0.20

Apartment (state utilities) - around $19

Rent of apartment in Kiev (one room apartment) - from $70 per month; 2 rooms apartment – from $150

Payment for telephone (subscriber's rental) $1,30 per month.

Electricity - $3,75 per month for the family of 2 persons.

Gasoline -  $2 per litre.

Some prices for food:

Meat - $2-$3 per kg.

Milk - $038 per lt.

Bread - around $0,19

Butter - $1,88 per kg.

Fish - $2-$3 per kg.

Medical system:

There is payable and free services.

First reception of patient: $10

Free service - “so called free”, as if a person should go to the hospital, he has to buy all the medicine, syringe, medicine dropper, etc.

Education:

There is free and payable education (private schools).

Privaite - from $100 per month till $300-500.

Free schools - parents have to pay some school fees (around $30-50 per month).

Education is obligatory during 11 years.

Children can learn one single foreign language from 6-7 years (depends on the school).

All education is in Ukrainian language, but there are Russian grades in schools.

Climate

The climate in Ukraine is similar to the wheat-producing regions of Canada and is characterized by abundant precipitation and cloudy skies, especially in fall and winter. The mean temperature in summer is 67^oF (19^oC) and in winter 21^oF (-6^oC). Although the summers tend to be short, the temperature can rise into the 90's making it uncomfortable, since most buildings have no central cooling systems. The winters are long and cold, with cloudy skies a norm.

People
Population (est.): 52  million.
Nationality: Noun--Ukrainian(s); adjective--Ukrainian.
Ethnic groups: Ukrainians, Russians, Jews, Belarusians, Moldovans, Bulgarians, Poles, Hungarians, Romanians, Crimean Tatars, and other groups.
Religions: Ukrainian Orthodoxy, Ukrainian Greek Catholicism, Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Islam.
Languages: Ukrainian, Russian, others.
Education: Literacy--98%.
Health: Infant mortality rate--22/1,000; life expectancy--61.6 yrs. males, 72.8 yrs. females.
Work force: 23 million. Industry and construction--32%; agriculture and forestry--24%; health, education, and culture--17%; transport and communication--7%.

Money

The official ukrainian currency 'Hryvnia' (UAH).

Business hours

An eight-hour day is considered a normal work day, Monday through Friday.

A lunch break is taken between the hours of 1:00pm and 2:00pm. Most banks are open without breaks, Monday through Friday from 9:00am to 1:00pm.

Telephone Calls

To make a call from Ukraine abroad it is necessary to dial 8-10-code of the country - code of the city etc.

Information about cities:

KIEV -- the capital of Ukraine

Kiev (Kyiv, in Ukrainian), the capital of Ukraine, has a population of nearly 3 million inhabitants and covers over 43 km from east to west and 42 km from north to south. Kyiv occupies more than 790 sq.km and sits on the both banks of the Dnipro river. Approximately 85% of the Ukrainian population are Orthodox Christians; 10% are Catholics of the Byzantine rite; 3% are Protestant (mainly Baptists); 1.3% are of the Jewish faith. Kyiv has much to offer in the cultural and architectural arenas with its wide tree-lined boulevards and historical buildings reflecting various styles and periods of the ancient Kyivan-Rus Empire.

According to historical literature (The Primary Chronicle, 1097), Kyiv was founded by three brothers of the Slavic Polianian tribe - the brothers Kyi, Shchek and Khoryv, and their sister Lybid. The city was named after Kyi, the eldest brother. A monument, erected in their honour, stands on the bank of the River Dnipro.

Today, Kyiv is one of the great, ancient European cities, rich with historic monuments of art and architecture. It is the political, scientific, cultural, sports and industrial center of modern Ukraine. It has many hotels, cafes and restaurants with Ukrainian, European, American and Eastern cuisine to accommodate tourists and business persons. Modern stadia, tennis courts, swimming pools and gyms are available. If you visit Kyiv in late May, you will witness a beautiful festival - "The Days of Kyiv."

Kyiv is a major industrial center that includes companies specializing in electronics, engineering, aviation, food and chemical production, etc. Kyiv's economic development has been enriched by its advantageous location along the Dnipro River, which links Kyiv to the Black Sea.

CRIMEA

Ukraine is very rich for its history, culture, traditions and customs. Of course there are a lot of places of history worth of seeing. But lets start with Crimea at first!

Crimean Peninsula is not a large region, being almost exactly the size of the American State of Maryland, or a little smaller than Belgium. Within its compact territory, however, have dwelt a bewildering variety of peoples over the course of a very long time.

The autonomous republic of Crimea is part of Ukraine, and it is situated in the peninsula from which it takes its name. It is washed by the Black Sea in the west, south and south-east and by the Azov Sea in the north-east. In the north the peninsula borders with the continental Ukraine. The area of Crimea is 27.000 square km. The population is 2.650.000 people (there are many nationalities as Russian, Ukrainian, Tartars, Armenian, Greece, Bulgarian, Germans and others).

Crimea is very rich.  Crimea has name the "microcontinent", because there are so different nature’s landscapes. The highest point of Crimea is Roman-Kosh (1545 m). From the North and to the South of the Crimea peninsula across the steppe flows the North Crimea canal (it is 402 km) for watering the cities and cultives. At the South, Crimean mountains are divided in three ridges that long for 180 km from Sevastopol to Feodosia. Along the Famous Ridge (the South Ridge) it is situated the narrow (2-3 km) valley of the South side of Crimea.

Crimea is very famous as a health resort. Health resorts are the main riches of our land, but the base of are food, construction, chemical, different machine-building industries, agriculture, fishing and transport system. There is the longest and the highest trolleybus road in Europe, Simferopol-Yalta, with its 96 km long and to 753 m high.

Language

The official language in Ukraine is Ukrainian.

Most of the population in eastern Ukraine and in Kyiv speak Russian as a first language, while Ukrainian is the first language in western Ukraine. Although those in the political world and the local media use both languages, official documents are now in Ukrainian. The two languages share almost the same Cyrillic alphabet, and if you arrive unfamiliar with either language a phrase book or interpreter is almost essential. Not much English is spoken here.

http://www.uazone.net/gallery/ photo galary on main Ukrainian cities