General Information
Location and boundaries
Ukraine is located in the central Europe at the crossroads between
Europe and Asia. Ukraine borders on Romania, Moldova, Hungary, Slovakia,
Poland, Belarus and Russia. Having the total area of 603,700 sq.km,
Ukraine is one of the biggest countries of Europe.
The country is subdivided into 24 regions (oblasts) and the Crimea
- autonomous republic.
The capital is Kyiv (Kiev in Russian transliterations).
Weather
The climate is moderately continental and comparatively dry with
more than 290 sunny days in the year in the South Ukraine (Black
Sea coast, Crimea).
Average winter temperature:
from -8° to -15° C (between +17.6° F and +5° F)
In Southern regions the winter temperature hovers around freezing.
Falling snow and -10° C (+14° F) is a really rare occurrence,
which is usually replaced by a thaw.
Average summer temperature:
from +18° to +25° C (between +64,4° and +77° F),
though in daytime can get up over +35° C (+95° F).
For converting Fahrenheit into Celsius and back the following
formula is used:
F = (1,8 x C) + 32 C = 0,55 x (F - 32)
Geography
Ukraine is located in East-Europe plain. The most part of the country
is in low-lying lands, fertile plains (steppes) with two highland
areas: in the South -Crimean Mountains (the highest point: mt. Ramantkosh,
1,545 meters) and in the West - Carpathian Mountains (the highest
point: mt. Hoverla, 2,061 meters).
Southern coast of Ukraine is washed by the Black and Azov Sea, coast
line is 2,782 km. The majority of Ukrainian rivers flow into the
Black Sea, among the biggest are Dnipro, Dnister, Danube, Desna,
Pivdenyj (Southern) Booh.
Minural resources: iron ore, coal, manganese, natural gas, oil,
salt, sulfur, graphite, titanium, magnesium, kaolin, nickel, mercury,
timber and arable land.
Language
State language is Ukrainian. The majority of Ukrainians are bilingual
and speak Russian as well. Russian is used widely in the Crimea,
Odessa, Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk. Among foreign languages the
most popular is English.
Food
You would be impressed with quantity and quality of restaurants
here - national Ukrainian cuisine, European entrees, Italian Pizzerias
or just fast food.
Ukrainian cuisine restaurants become more and more popular with
traditional Borsch – red and green, several kinds of Ukrainian
Vareniki (dumplings) stuffed with potatoes, mushrooms, all kinds
of meat or cheese, Golubtsy (cabbage rolls) - cabbage leaves stuffed
with rice, meat, carrot and fried onion, usually served with sour-cream,
jellied meat with horse-radish, suckling pig, stuffed fish and plenty
of other Ukrainian specialties. Ukrainian cuisine is rich of natural
components grown in the fertile Ukrainian Tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet
onion, lettuce, peaches, watermelons, apples, grapes - all vegetable
and fruits produced in Ukraine taste marvelous.
tricity
The standard electric supply in Ukraine is 220V/ 50 Hz. Ukrainian
plugs are of the same kind as in the most European countries –
two round pins. If electric appliances you bring have different
specs make sure to take a converter and/or plug adapter. To save
electric power, in the last week of March all watches in Ukraine
are set an hour forward and one hour backward in the last week of
October.
Public Transportation
Most Ukrainian cities have extensive public transport system which
operates from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. Buses, trams and trolleys are rather
slow, but it is a cheap way to travel within cities. Prices range
from 30 kopecks to 2 hryvnas.
Taxi is comparatively cheap for Ukrainian/Russian speaking passengers.
Probably everywhere situation with taxi is like this – if one
speaks a foreign language price for a taxi goes up. There are numerous
taxi services, orders are taken via phone. A taxi or a gypsy cab
can be hired right on the street simply by putting out your hand.
Services of gypsy cabs are less expensive but are not recommended
from the safety point of viever, if you wish to use a gypsy cab
make sure there is nobody else inside but the driver and negotiate
the price before you get in the car.
Shopping
Ukraine is famous for its high-quality textile, as well as food
products and drinks: delicatessen, caviar, confectionery, chocolate,
juices, beer, vodka, Crimea wines and plenty of others. Shops and
markets trade via Hryvna only. However, some of shops accept Visa,
MasterCard/EuroCard. You can identify such places by credit cards
signs on the entrance door.
Buying a souvenir, a painting, a sculpture or other handcrafts
it is a good idea to get a certificate identifying hal value (its
absence) of the purchased good. This document might be useful when
going through the customs upon departure from Ukraine.
Working hours
State and public offices are opened from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday
through Friday, with a lunch hour from 1p.m. as a rule.
The majority of stores are opened from 10a.m. to 7p.m. and closed
only on Sunday. A lunch hour is usually either from 1 to 2p.m. or
from 2 to 3p.m.
As for food stores, many of them work 24 hours 7 days a week,
a few – from 8a.m. to 8p.m.Usual work time for cafes and restaurants
is from 10-12 a.m. until a last customer leaves.
Most banks are open to public from 9a.m. to 3p.m with a lunch
hour from 1 to 2 p.m. and are closed on Saturday, Sunday.
Governmental system
Ukraine is a republic with a constitutional democracy form of government,
headed by the President. The power is divided among executive, legislative
and judicial branches. The President designates
a Prime Minister and regional governors, the Supreme Council can
veto his decisions.
Executive branch: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the President
and approved by the Supreme Council.
Legislative branch: unicameral Supreme Council (Verkhovna Rada)
of 450 seats.
The Ukrainian national emblem is a golden Trident (tryzoob),
which dates back to Rjurik Dynasty, the governors of Kievan Rus.
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/up.html
- Facts about Ukraine by CIA World Fact Book
http://www.brama.com
- The site represents both Ukraine and Ukrainians in the world,
offering a web directory, breaking news from Ukraine and online
shopping. They also provide extensive listing of links to Ukrainian
language, culture and travel sites.
http://www.ukraine.com
- Ukraine.com provides information about "all things Ukraine".
Offers many useful features, such as discussion board with travel
tips, online shopping with Ukrainian stores, Ukrainian news and
weather, fast facts on Ukraine, and an online photo gallery.
http://www.uazone.net
- UA Zone is a public, volunteer-driven project aimed at providing
reliable information about Ukraine, Ukrainian culture and Ukrainian
business. It offers an easy-to-navigate Ukraine Factbook and a Photo
Gallery of images from many regions and cities in Ukraine.
http://www.ukrania.com
- Offers a fairly comprehensive Web Directory of Ukranian sites,
a search engine, and email newsletter, as well as up-to-date Ukrainian
news.
Directory of Ukrainian web-resources in English - Online Ukrainian resources in English: Ukrainian banks, hotels, government, medicine, importers, distributors, recreation, travel, entertainment, cities, agriculture, dating, chambers of commerce, etc.
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