| |
|
Kyiv (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. It occupies the area of 836 sq. km.
Kyiv is one of the oldest cities of the world. Legend says that at the
end of the 5th and the beginning of the 6th centuries, three brothers,
Kiy, Shchek and Khoriv, and their sister, Lybid, founded a town and named
it after their elder brother Kiy, as "Kyiv". By the end of the
9th century, when the Kyiv Rus princes united scattered Slavic tribes,
For more than 3 centuries Kyiv was the capital of Kyivan Rus, a state
that was the historic ancestor of both Russia and Ukraine. Even now Kiev
is called "the mother of Russian cities". But in 1240 it was
devastated by Mongols and fell into decline. In the 14th century it was
taken by Lithuania, and later passed under Polish rule until it was annexed
by Russia in the 17th century. Under Russian and Soviet rule it reemerged
as an important commercial city. With the dissolution of the USSR in 1991,
it became the capital of a newly independent Ukraine.
The city of Kyiv is the largest administrative center of the country.
Located in Kyiv and working there are President, the Parliament, the Government,
practically all Ministries and governmental departments of Ukraine.
A powerful economic potential is focused in Kyiv, involving the manufacturing
of complex machinery, notably aircraft, and precision tools and instruments.
Kyiv is also known for its chemical industries, food-processing and timber-wood
enterprise, and its consumer goods and publishing industries. About 350
great industrial enterprises are located in Kyiv and function there together
with thousands of small and joint venture companies, building organizations,
organizations dealing with transportation, communication, etc.
Kyiv is most important educational and research center of Ukraine. Here
you may find Ukrainian Academy of Science and a number of other research
institutions. Approximately 150,000 students are enrolled in more than
20 city's higher educational establishments, the most important of which
is Kyiv Shevchenko University, founded in 1834.
The capital of Ukraine has a great cultural potential:
32 museums, 33 theatres, many standing art exhibitions and concert halls.
The most prominent of them are Ivan Franko Ukrainian Drama Theater, the
Taras Shevehenko Opera and Ballet Theater, and the Philharmonic Concert
Hall. More than 2 000 building in Kyiv are regarded as monuments of history,
culture and architecture.
|
