Travel to Ukraine:
Ukraine tourist information with details about travel to and around the country. Where to
stay and what to see is made easier with insider tips and hand-selected Ukraine links, by
dedicated editors and visitors to TravelNotes.org - The Online Guide to Travel.
The capital of Ukraine is Kiev.
Buy
a Map of Ukraine.
The flag of Ukraine is two equal horizontal bands of azure (top)
and golden yellow (bottom); representing grain fields under a blue sky.
Ukraine was the centre of the first eastern Slavic state, Kyivan
Rus, which during the 10th and 11th centuries was the largest and most powerful state in
Europe.
Weakened by internecine quarrels and Mongol invasions, Kyivan Rus was
incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and eventually into the Polish-Lithuanian
Commonwealth.
The cultural and religious legacy of Kyivan Rus laid the foundation for
Ukrainian nationalism through subsequent centuries.
A new Ukrainian state, the Cossack Hetmanate, was established during
the mid-17th century; after an uprising against the Poles. Despite continuous Muscovite
pressure, the Hetmanate managed to remain autonomous for well over 100 years.
During the latter part of the 18th century, most Ukrainian
ethnographic territory was absorbed by the Russian Empire.
Following the collapse of czarist Russia, in 1917, Ukraine was able to
bring about a short-lived period of independence (1917-20), but was reconquered and forced
to endure a brutal Soviet rule that engineered two artificial famines (1921-22 and
1932-33); in which over 8 million died.
In World War II, German and Soviet armies were responsible for some 7
to 8 million more deaths.
Although final independence for Ukraine was achieved in 1991, with the
dissolution of the USSR, democracy remained elusive as the legacy of state control and
endemic corruption stalled efforts at economic reform, privatisation, and civil liberties.
A peaceful mass protest 'Orange Revolution' in the closing months of
2004 forced the authorities to overturn a rigged presidential election and to allow a new
internationally monitored vote that swept into power a reformist slate under Viktor
Yuschenko.
Subsequent internal squabbles in the Yuschenko camp allowed his rival
Viktor Yanukovych to stage a comeback in parliamentary elections and become prime
minister, in August of 2006.
Geographically
Eastern Europe - bordering the
Black Sea; between Poland, Romania, and Moldova
in the west, and Russia in the east.
Administrative Divisions
24 provinces:
(oblasti, singular - oblast')
Cherkasy; Chernihiv; Chernivtsi; Dnipropetrovs'k; Donets'k;
Ivano-Frankivs'k; Kharkiv; Kherson; Khmel'nyts'kyy; Kirovohrad; Kyiv; Luhans'k; L'viv;
Mykolayiv; Odesa; Poltava; Rivne; Sumy; Ternopil'; Vinnytsya; Volyn' (Luts'k); Zakarpattya
(Uzhhorod); Zaporizhzhya; Zhytomy.
1 autonomous republic:
(avtonomna respublika)
Crimea or Avtonomna Respublika Krym (Simferopol') - Returned to Russia.
2 municipalities:
(mista, singular - misto) with oblast status
Kyiv and Sevastopol'.
Note:
Administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centres (exceptions
have the administrative centre name in parentheses).
Independence
24th August, 1991 (from the Soviet Union).
National Holiday
Independence Day: 24th August.
Unity Day: 22nd January - celebrates the day Ukraine first declared
its independence from Soviet Russia (1918) and the day the short-lived Western and Central
Ukrainian republics united (1919).
Chervona Ruta:
Ukraine Black Sea cruises on board comfortable four-deck motor ships MS Dnieper Princess,
MS General Vatutin and MS Dnieper Star.
OdessaGate:
OdessaGate's mission is to provide tourists with comfortable and safe conditions during
their stay in Odessa, Ukraine.
Ukraine Accommodation:
Reservation system of apartments and services for travellers in Odessa, Kiev, Kherson,
Kharkov, Nikolaev, Lviv, Poltava and around Ukraine.
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