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Territory
Population and demographics of Ukraine The population of Ukraine is 50 million.
According to the Ukrainian Census of 2001, ethnic Ukrainians make up 77.8% of the population. Other significant ethnic groups are Russians (17.3%), Belarusians (0.6%), Moldovans (0.5%), Crimean Tatars (0.5%), Bulgarians (0.4%), Hungarians (0.3%), Romanians (0.3%), Poles (0.3%), Jews (0.2%), Armenians (0.2%), Greeks (0.2%) and Tatars (0.2%).
Religion The dominant religion in Ukraine is Eastern Orthodox Christianity, which is currently split between three Church bodies; the distant second is the Eastern Rite Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, which practices the same liturgical and spiritual tradition as Eastern Orthodoxy, but is in communion with the See of Peter and recognizes the primacy of the Pope as head of the Church. There are also smaller groups of Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and Muslim faithful.
Language Ukrainian is the only official state language. Russian, which was a de facto official language in the Soviet Union, is widely spoken, especially in eastern and southern Ukraine. According to the census, 67.5% of the population declared Ukrainian as their native language and 29.6% declared Russian. It is sometimes difficult to determine the extent of the two languages, since many people use a Surzhyk (a mixture of Ukrainian and Russian where the vocabulary is often combined with Ukrainian grammar and pronunciation) while claiming in surveys that they speak Russian or Ukrainian (most of them are able to speak both literary languages though).
Ukrainian Time Ukraine’s time is two hours later than Greenwich Mean Time.
Climate The climate of the country is moderate. Winter is rather mild, with no severe frosts but with regular snowfalls everywhere except the south. The rivers and lakes freeze in winter. The average winter temperature varies -20 Centigrade in the north to -3-5 in the south. Summer is quite hot and dry, with occasional showers and thunderstorms. The fertile black soil is well watered in spring and autumn and gets plenty of sunshine in summer.
Natural resources Due to favourable climatic conditions, Ukraine is traditionally an agricultural area. It grows wheat, maize, buckwheat and other corn, red and green vegetables, all kinds of fruit, melons and berries. Ukraine is one of the world's main centres of sugar production. It produces sugar both for its own needs and for export. The country is rich in natural resources, such as iron ore, coal, colour metal, oil, gas, mineral salts, clay and potential water power.
Brief history From at least the ninth century, the territory of present-day Ukraine was a centre of medieval East Slavic civilization forming the state of Kievan Rus, and for the following several centuries the territory was divided between a number of regional powers. After a brief period of independence (1917–1921) following the Russian Revolution of 1917, Ukraine became one of the founding Soviet Republics in 1922. The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic's territory was enlarged westward after the Second World War, and again in 1954 with the Crimea transfer. In 1945 Ukrainian SSR became one of the co-founder members of the United Nations. It became independent again after the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991.
Industry Ukraine has developed a varied industry, concentrated mostly in and around big cities, such as Kiev, Zaporozhye, Dnepropetrovsk, Dnyeprodzerzhinsk, Odessa, Kharkov, Lviv, Nickolayev and other. It produces planes and ships, lorries and buses, motorcars and locomotives, computer and electronic equipment, precision instruments and agricultural machines, TV and radioset, chemicals and textiles and various consumer goods. Odessa, Sebastopol, Nickolayev, Kherson and Kerch are main Ukrainian ports.
Economy of Ukraine Ukraine represents one of top thirty world economies, with below average per capita income, and above average economic growth. In the Soviet times, the economy of republic was the second largest in the Soviet Union, being an important industrial and agricultural component of country's planned economy. With the collapse of Soviet system, the country progressed toward a market economy, but the move was somewhat longer and more painful than the proponents of shock therapy were to advise. In 1991, the government liberalized most prices in order to combat widespread product shortages, and was successful in overcoming the problem. In the same time, the government continued to subside the government-owned industries and agriculture by uncovered monetary emission. The loose monetary policies of early 1990s pushed inflation to hyperinflationary levels. For year 1993 Ukraine holds the world anti-record of inflation. The prices stabilized only after the introduction of new currency, hryvnia in 1996. The country was also slow in the implementation of structural reforms. Following independence, the government erected a legal framework for privatization. However, widespread resistance to reforms within the government and from a significant part of population soon stalled the reform efforts. A large number of governed-owned enterprises were exempt from the privatization process. Meantime, by 1999, the output had fallen to less than 40% of the 1991 level. Since the late 1990s the government has pledged to reduce the number of government agencies, streamline the regulatory process, create a legal environment to encourage entrepreneurs, and enact a comprehensive tax overhaul. Outside institutions—particularly the IMF—have encouraged Ukraine to quicken the pace and scope of reforms and have threatened to withdraw financial support. But reforms in some politically sensitive areas of structural reform and land privatizations are still lagging. In early 2000s the economy showed strong export-based growth of 5% to 10%, with industrial production growing more than 10% per year. The growth was largely attributed to a surge in exports of metals and chemicals to China. In 2005, the economic growth temporary slowed down due to unfavorable changes in terms of trade, as world energy prices went up and metal prices went down. In 2006, the economy is again experiencing above 5% growth. The growth was undergirded by strong domestic demand and growing consumer and investor confidence. Current Ukrainian economy is a typical example of the post soviet era - developing economy. The World Bank classifies Ukraine as a lower middle-income state. Among significant issues there are underdeveloped infrastructure and transportation, corruption and bureaucracy, lack of modern-minded professionals - despite big number of universities. But rapidly growing Ukrainian economy is very interesting emerging market with relatively big population, and high profits associated with high risks. The Ukrainian stock market grew up 10 times between 2000 and 2006, including the tremendous 341% growth in 2004, followed by 28% growth in 2005, and 24% growth in 2006. In a cross-country comparison, Ukraine is still one of relatively poor and corrupted countries in Europe. Average nominal salary in Ukraine was on September 2006 according to the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine - 1004.1 UAH which is around 150 EUR. For 2006, the Index of Economic Freedom of Ukraine was 3.24 and rank 99 among 157 states; the Corruption Perceptions Index of Ukraine was 2.8 and rank 99 among 163 states. (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
Ukrainian cultural Ukrainian culture is richly embedded in ancient traditions. Even today many historical songs such as the dumy and the playing of the kobza which was popular during the 16th century. It is still enjoyed. However music has also come a long way since then and Polissia magic pop and Kolomiya rap tend to be most popular. The culture scene has also seen a resurgence of Cossack songs and song poetry. There are also a number of cultural festivals such as the Tavriya Games which are most popular.
Independence The country's first president after independence, former Communist Party official Leonid Kravchuk, presided over a period of economic decline and runaway inflation. After Leonid Kuchma won the presidency in 1994, the economy at first continued to fare badly as the president became embroiled in a series of stand-offs with parliament and failed to push ahead with economic reforms. Corruption was a major problem and investors were wary. The new millennium brought economic growth for the first time, with rising industrial output, improving exports and falling inflation. Although the amount of trade with EU countries overall now exceeds that with Russia, Russia remains the country's largest individual trading partner. Ukraine is heavily dependent on Russia for its gas supplies and forms an important part of the pipeline transit route for Russian gas exports to Europe. A dispute over price rises prompted Russia briefly to cut supplies for use by Ukraine in January 2006 and raised concerns across Europe too. Since Viktor Yushchenko became president, Ukraine has made clear its aspiration towards EU membership. Foreign Minister Tarasyuk has mentioned 2015 as a possible target entry date. In May 2002 Ukraine announced the intention to seek Nato membership. There were Ukrainian peacekeepers in the stabilisation force in Iraq and the country also contributed troops to peacekeeping operations in Kosovo.
National cuisine Ukrainian dishes show a sophisticated simplicity based on pleasing combinations of fresh, pickled, and smoked ingredients. While cooking techniques are not complicated, dishes may contain a great number of ingredients and unusual combinations, such as shuba salad which combines pickled herring and beets. Food is neither highly spiced nor bland, but skillfully seasoned to perfection. Bread, is of course the mainstay of the Ukrainian diet. The country’s reputation as the Breadbasket of Europe is well deserved. The French writer Honore de Balzac, who lived in Ukraine for four years, counted 77 different ways of preparing bread. It is such a central part of the diet here that there is a custom to give honored guests and departing or arriving travelers the gift of a loaf of bread and salt. This tradition is still used in welcoming ceremonies for dignitaries and other important persons. Borsch is certainly the national dish of Ukraine, even making its appearance on the menus of Chinese and Italian restaurants in Kiev. This uniquely Ukrainian soup has been adopted by other countries in the region, but as recently as 45 years ago it could not even be found in restaurants in other Soviet republics. The many versions of borsch served throughout the country reflect the individuality of Ukrainians as well as their ingenuity. The beet-based soup can contain as many as 20 different ingredients, depending on the season, region, and of course, personal preference of the cook. It can be meatless or prepared from a rich meat stock and contain either beef or smoked pork. The availability of ingredients for traditional cooking are often dependent on the season, so most varieties of vegetables sometimes make their appearance in certain dishes in their pickled form. You also might find that certain dishes listed on a menu might not be available at certain times of year. Salads are very common, but rather than being lettuce-based, combinations of fresh, cooked, and preserved vegetables may be mixed with meat, cheese, or fish. With so many different recipes, the only constant of Ukrainian salads are the presence of vinegar or mayonnaise. 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 entree, or sour cherries or sweetened cottage cheese and raisins as a dessert. Any kind can be accompanied by butter or sour cream. The word holubtsi can be translated into little pigeons, but really has nothing to do with fowl of any kind. They are cabbage rolls stuffed with meat and rice or buckwheat and often covered with a thin tomato sauce. There are many different kinds of pastries and cakes, usually less sweet than they are made outside of continental Europe. 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.
Visa For citizens of some countries visas are required for the entry into Ukraine. Because a visa clearance procedure varies from country to country it is advisable than you call your Ukrainian Consulate for the information. Ukraine sets visa free regime for citizens of the United States of America starting 1st July 2005, citizens of Canada and Japan starting 1st August 2005, citizens of the European Union countries, Swiss Confederation and Liechtenstein starting 1st September 2005, citizens of the Principality of Andorra, Vatican (The Holly See), the Principality of Monaco, the Republic of Iceland, the Kingdom of Norway, the Republic of San Marino starting 1st January 2006. This regulation establishes visa-free regime of entry to Ukraine and transit through it territory for USA, Canada, Japan, EU, Swiss, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Vatican, Monaco, Iceland, Norway, San Marino passport holders who may stay in Ukraine up to 90 days.