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Ukraine

History 

The land that is now known as the Ukraine has an old and varied history and has long  been a hotspot for various invasions situated as it is on the Black  Sea and the gateway to Europe from Asia. From the 2nd to the 9th Century Ukraine was fought over by the Ostrogoths, Huns and Khazars, in 882  Oleh of Novgorod  declared himself ruler of Kiev and the city prospered and grew into the powerful Kiev Rus state but internecine conflict was a continuous problem.In 988 Price Volodymyr visited Constantinople, accepted Christianity and founded the Russian and Ukrainian Orthodox Church also converting his subjects. By the 13th century much Eastern and southern Ukraine fell under the control of the Volga based Golden Horde by the end of the 14th century however it's empire collapsed under the with of growing Russian, Polish and Lithuanian military pressure. During the 15th and 16th centuries the dominant foreign influences were Russia and Poland which eventually broke out into open war in 1660 and Ukraine was split between them with Kiev and the northern territories going to Russia and the areas west of the Dnipro river going to the Poles. By the end of the `18th century however Russia was in control of most of Ukraine except for the extreme west which was in the hands of the Hapsburg Empire. 

During WW1 with the collapse of Tsarist power the Ukraine has a realistic chance of independence. The country was fought over by numerous armies during the civil war but by 1922 the country was again divided between Russia, Poland, Czechoslovakia and Romania. The Russian section was part of the USSR but Stalin mistrusted Ukrainian nationalism and used the country as a testing ground for his social experiments culminating with a famine in 1932-33 which killed 3 million Ukrainians.During the Second World War much of the country was under German occupation 6 million Ukrainians died during the war and much of the countries cities were ruined after the war the Soviet Union kept the territory of the Ukraine it had taken from Poland in 1939. When Glasnost began opposition to Soviet rule was already underway, the Chernobyl disaster merely exacerbated it and led to riots in Lvov in 1988. In 1991 Ukraine adopted a declaration of independence from the Soviet Union as the latter has ceased to exist by the 25th December of that year. 

Leonid Kuchma dominated Ukrainian politics for some years after independence, he was an old school pro Russian reformer but who was also corrupt. In 1999 he was re-elected despite accusations of vote rigging in this one and in the subsequent 2002 elections which he also won. However these may have been only some of his crimes a journalist named Georgy Gongadze who pressed the president of his knowledge of his Prime Minister's crimes (money laundering) was found in a ditch decapitated.In 2004 he stood down and the presidential election pitted Viktor Yushchenko, the former reformist prime minister, against Viktor Yanukovich, the current prime minister and Kuchma's chosen successor it was widely regarded as a dirty contest. Yeshchencko was poisoned and his health maybe be affected for many years by the dioxin, Yanukovish won by a slim margin however the results were widely regarded to be fraudulent hundreds of thousands took to the streets to protest the outcome and so was born the Orange revolution. Yeshchencko was eventually sworn in. 

In parliamentary elections on March 26, 2006, Yushchenko's party fared badly, receiving only 14% of the vote and a broad coalition government has to be put together. On Oct. 9, 2008, after weeks of political turmoil that saw the collapse of his pro-Western coalition, President Viktor Yushchenko signed an order to dissolve Parliament and called for new elections.  

The IMF extended a $16.5 billion rescue package to Ukraine in November 2008 to boost its cash reserves and aid its currency during the global financial crisis. 

Geography
 
The Ukraine is the largest country whose entire territory is within Europe, the topography consists almost totally of steppe gently rolling and partially wooded plains divided by the Dnipro river. The only major mountains are the Carpathians in the West and the Crimean in the South a central belt of fertile humus rich soil in Ukraine spawned the term "black earth" that once made it the bread basket of Europe. The country is rich in wildlife with elk, deer, wild boar, brown bears and wolves inhabiting the forests which are abundant as are many species of flowers. 
 
Climate 
Inland Ukraine enjoys a relatively moderate continental climate. The hottest month is July averages around 23C while the coolest in January which is often well below freezing. The Crimea region also has a micro climate with cooler winters and hotter summers. 
 
Location 
Comparatively, Ukraine is slightly smaller than the state of Texas with a total area of 603,700 sq km (233,090 sq mi). Ukraine shares boundaries with Belarus on the North, Russia on the East, the Black Sea on the South, Romania, Moldova, Hungary, and Slovakia on the West, and Poland on the NW. Ukraine's location is one of strategic importance at the crossroads between Europe and Asia. Its land boundary totals 4,663 km (2,897 mi) and its coastline is 2,782 (1,729 mi). Ukraine's capital city, Kiev, is located in the north central part of the country.  

Administrative 
Ukraine is divided into 24 oblast, 2 special municipalities (Kyiv [Kiev] and Sevastopol) and 1 autonomous republic (Krym). The oblast were not granted flags during the Soviet era.  
 
Demography 
Population size at 1 December 2004 was equal to 47 million 318 thousand people. During the 2003 year amount of population was decreased on 0,8% (381 thousand people). The modern tendencies in demographic development of Ukraine are characterized by a set of factors - stabilization of birth rate and mortality level, decrease of child and mother mortality, population aging and worsening of population health. The levels of birth rate are one of the lowest, child mortality and divorces - one of the highest in the Europe. Die twice more than born. 

Religion 

Ukrainians are predominantly of the Orthodox Christian faith, in eastern and southern Ukraine most common is Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC-MP) under the Patriarch of Moscow of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) in central and west Ukraine there is a growing influence of the unrecognized Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kiev Patriarchy headed by Patriarch Filaret. Some Ukrainians especially in the Western region of Galicia belong to Eastern Rite of the Catholic Church more specifically to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Various Protestant churches as well have a growing presence among Ukrainians. 
 


Ethnicity 
The main ethnicity is Ukrainian, at 77.8%, followed by: Russian 17.3%, Belarusian 0.6%, Moldovan 0.5%, Crimean Tatar 0.5%, Bulgarian 0.4%, Hungarian 0.3%, and Romanian 0.3%. 
 
 Language 

The official language of Ukraine is Ukrainian, an East Slavic language which is the native language of 67.5% of Ukraine's population. Russian is the native language of 29.6% of Ukraine's population and the rest are native speakers of other languages. Ethnologue lists the following total of 40 minority languages and dialects: Abkhaz, Armenian, Balkan Romani, Baltic Romani, Bashkir, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Carpathian Romani, Chuvash, Crimean Tatar, Czech, Dargwa, Eastern Yiddish, Erzya, Gagauz, Georgian, Gotlander Swedish, Greek, Hungarian, Jakati, a form of Punjabi from Pakistan, Jassic (Yassi or Yanni) of Persian origin, Kazakh, Lak, Latvian, Lithuanian, Lezgian, Mordvian, Osetin, Polish, Romanian, Rusyn, Serbian, Slovak, Standard German, Tajik, Tatar, Tosk Albanian, Turkish, Uzbek, Ukrainian sign language, Urum, Vlax Romani and Yakut. 

 Economy 

The economy of Ukraine is an emerging free market, with a gross domestic product that has experienced rapid growth in recent years. Ukraine's economy is ranked 45th in the world according to 2008 GDP (nominal) with the total nominal GDP of 399.866 billion USD (2007 est.), and 8,624 USD GDP per capita (2007 est.). Formerly a major component of the economy of the Soviet Union (both in industry and agriculture), the country's economy experienced major recession during the 1990s, including hyperinflation and drastic falls in economic output; GDP growth was first registered in 2000, and reforms are continuing. In 2007 the economy continued to grow and posted real GDP growth of 7%. Ukraine is relatively rich in natural resources, particularly in mineral deposits. Although oil and natural gas reserves in the country are largely exhausted, it has other important energy sources, such as coal, hydroelectricity and nuclear fuel raw materials. Ukraine has a major ferrous metal industry, producing cast iron, steel and pipes.

As of 2005, Ukraine was the world's eighth largest steel producer. Another important branch is the country's chemical industry which includes the production of coke, mineral fertilizers and sulphuric acid. Manufactured goods include metallurgical equipment, diesel locomotives, tractors, and automobiles. The country possesses a massive high-tech industrial base, including much of the former USSR's electronics, arms industry and space program. However, these fields are state-owned and underdeveloped in terms of business practices. Ukraine is a major producer of grain, sugar, meat and milk products.However Ukraine was greatly affected by the economic crisis of 2008 and as a result the World Bank expects Ukraine's economy is to shrink 15% in 2009 with inflation being 16.4%. The Ukrainian government predicts GDP growth of 0.4% in 2009 and a slowdown in inflation to 9.5% (also in 2009), although the overwhelming majority of economists consider this forecast to be excessively optimistic. 

Five years after the “Orange Revolution,”  which brought Ukrainian politician Viktor Yushchenko to power in January 2005, the Ukrainian economy is in the deepest crisis since the post-Soviet economic and social implosion of the 1990s. 

 Ukrainian Cuisine 

Varenyky are dumplings made from boiled or fried dough, resembling ravioli without red sauce. They can be filled with meat, potatoes, cabbage, and sometimes mushrooms for as an entrée, or sour cherries or sweetened cottage cheese and raisins as a dessert. Any kind can be accompanied by butter or sour cream.  
 
Borscht (borshch): vegetable soup (most common form made with beetroot), popular among eastern Slavic nations. There are more than thirty regional recipes for cooking Borsch, often with meat).

Hrybivka: mushroom soup, served with vushka in Volyn region.

Kapusniak and solyanka: sauerkraut soups.

Rosolnyk: soup with pickles.


Yushka: fish soup, made of fresh-water fish, usually carp. Similar to the Russian cuisine, Ukha, which is also a fish-soup.

Vushka or holushky: "little ears" rolled triangular dumplings, sometimes stuffed with mushrooms in soup or on the side  

A Kievsky Tort is a local specialty, made of layers of crumbly raised wafers, hazelnuts, and it even comes in its own special green box. For a uniquely Ukrainian drink, try kvas, a slightly sweet non-alcoholic beverage with a wheat-like taste sold from giant tanks on wheels in the summer throughout the city. 

HIV infection has risen rapidly in Ukraine since the late 1990s and its epidemic is now the worst in Europe. The infection rate is highest among the country's estimated 560,000 intravenous drug users, of whom 37 percent are infected. Transmission of HIV through heterosexual sex is increasing, infections among women are rising, and female sex workers are also using intravenous drugs. HIV transmission through male homosexual sex is said to be vastly underreported. By the end of 2006, Ukrainian authorities had reported a cumulative total of 91 057 HIV cases. They also reported that 17 281 of the infected individuals had developed AIDS by December 2006, and that 6161had died. Ukraine reports the highest number of annual deaths among AIDS cases in the European Region. 

HIV cases have been registered in all regions of Ukraine, although prevalence rates vary. The regions most affected by the epidemic are the eastern and southern oblasts of Ukraine including: Dnipropetrovsk oblast (12,085 registered cases), Odesa oblast (8,137 registered cases), Donetsk oblast (14,336 registered cases), Mykolaivsk oblast (3,550 registered cases), and the AR of Crimea (4,222 registered cases). With each year the situation significantly deteriorates in those oblasts that were initially considered less affected by HIV/AIDS epidemic, including Cherkasi, Chernigiv and Khmelnytsky oblasts. 
 
The best time to go to Ukraine is in spring when the Chestnut trees bloom and the people the country over rejoice in throwing off heavy winter coats. With over 125,000 archeological, architectural and historical monuments, some dating from the 10th – 11th century and hundreds of museums that reflect the remarkable history of the Ukrainian people, there is plenty to see for the history hungry traveler. Odessa is referred to as the Ukraine