Ukraine tourist information

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the northeast, Belarus to the north, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary to the west, Romania and Moldova to the southwest and the Black Sea to the south. The historic city of Kiev (Kyiv) is the republic's capital.

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From at least the ninth century the territory of present-day Ukraine was a centre of medieval East Slavic civilization that formed the state that became known as 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 finally in 1954 with the Crimea transfer. Ukraine became independent again after the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991.

The Ukrainian landscape consists mostly of fertile plains, or steppes, and plateaus, crossed by rivers such as the Dnieper, Seversky Donets, Dniester and the Southern Buh as they flow south into the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. To the southwest the delta of the Danube forms the border with Romania. The country's only mountains are the Carpathian Mountains in the west, of which the highest is the Hora Hoverla at 2,061 metres (6,762 ft), and those in the Crimean peninsula, in the extreme south along the coast.

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Cuisine ^*

Ukrainian cuisine has a rich history and offers a wide variety of dishes. Many have been partly lent to other cuisines like German, Turkish and Polish. The cuisine of Ukraine has also influenced the cuisines of other neighbouring countries, e.g. Russian cuisine. Meat (especially pork), vegetables, fruit, mushrooms, berries, and herbs play a major part. Ukrainian food is intended to be filling, and should be served in large quantities.

Soup

Borscht-vegetable soup (most common form made with beets), popular among eastern Slavic nations. There are more than thirty regional recipes for cooking Borshch, 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.
Vushka or holushky-"little ears" rolled triangular dumplings, sometimes stuffed with mushrooms in soup or on the side.

Salad

Olivye (from French "Olivier") - called the "Russian salad" in the West.
Vinihret (from French "Vinaigrette") - red beet root salad with peas, onions and beans.
Pickles - Pickled cucumbers (kvasheni ohirky) or tomatoes (kvasheni pomidory) are usually made with garlic and dill. Also, sauerkraut (kvashena kapusta).
Kapustianyi-sauerkraut or fresh shredded cabbage, served with mayonnaise, oil, topped with klukva or grated walnuts.
Vesnianyi-diced cucumbers and tomatoes, topped with dill or parsley, when in season.
Oseledets-pickled herring, usually served with onions, black pepper and sunflower oil.
Pid-shuboyu-beetroot salad with pickled herring, apple and onion, topped with mayonnaise.
Marinated mushrooms-usually served as an appetizer, also garnished with oil and onions.

Breads Breads and wheat products are very important to Ukrainian cuisine. Decorations on the top can be very elaborate for celebrations.

Paska - traditional rich Easter bread. It is shaped in a short round form. The top of the paska is decorated with typical Easter symbols, such as roses or crosses.
Babka - another Easter bread, usually a sweet dough with raisins and other dried fruit. It is usually baked in a tall, cylindrical form.
Kolach - ring-shaped bread typically served at Christmas and funerals. The dough is braided, often with three strands representing the Holy Trinity. The braid is then shaped into a circle (circle = kolo in Ukrainian) representing the circle of life and family.
Korovai - a round, braided bread, similar to the kolach. It is most often baked for weddings and its top decorated with birds and periwinkle.

Main course

Pyrohy - baked/fried dumplings. Usually more of a dessert-type with fruit or poppy seed fillings and a sour dough than that of the Varenyky.
Varenyky (often called perogies in English)- boiled dumplings, usually filled with potatoes, cabbage, cheese, or seasonal fruits, topped with butter and sugar or shkvarky (fried bits of salo and onions), accompanied with sour cream.
Cabbage rolls (holubtsi) - cabbage (or vine) leaves stuffed with minced meat and rice or millet (pshono), or buckwheat-stuffed beet leaves.
Syrnyky - cottage cheese fritters, sometimes with raisins.
Mlyntsi - crepes (blyntsi or nalisnyky), filled usually with cottage cheese, meat, caviar or fruits.
Stuffed duck or goose - with apples.
Game-hare, quail, wild boar and moose meat is also prepared when available.
Roast meat (pechenya) - pork, veal, beef or lamb roast.
Fish (ryba) - fried in egg and flour; cooked in oven with mushrooms, cheese and lemon; marinaded, dried or smoked variety.
Studynets - jellied fish (zalyvne) or meat (kholodets).
Stuffed zucchini or eggplant - oven-roasted, stuffed with tomatoes, bell peppers, mushrooms, and/or rice.
Kasha hrechana zi shkvarkamy - buckwheat cereal with chopped, fried bacon and/or onion.
Potato (kartoplia, also barabolia or bulba) - young or peeled, served with butter, sour cream, dill; princely variety includes raw egg.
Huliash - refers to stew in general, or specifically Hungarian goulash.
Sausage (kovbasa or sosysky) - various kinds of smoked pork, beef or chicken sausage.
Salo - salted pork fat, similar to bacon but with significantly higher ratio of fat to meat, or occasionally raw pig fat (sometimes jokingly referred to as Ukraine's "official food". Other Slavs sometimes call Ukrainians by this name as they find the thought of eating it unpleasant).
Kotlety (cutlets) - (plural; singular - kotleta) minced meat or fish fritters, sometimes rolled in breadcrumbs.
Shashlyk - a Georgian shish kebab: lamb and vegetables/mushrooms marinated in vinegar and grilled on skewers under white wine.
Deruny or pliatsky - potato pancakes, usually served with rich servings of sour cream; another variation of a dish - ''deruny'' fried with some cottage cheese in the middle.
Kanapky - either black or white bread (fresh or slightly grilled)-based canapes, topped with mayo or butter, caviar, smoked herring, cucumber/tomato slices garnished with dill or parsley.

Desserts

Kutia-traditional Christmas dish, made of poppy seeds, wheat, nuts, honey, and delicacies.
Pampushky- fried, rich sweet dough similar to doughnut holes. Frequently tossed with cinnamon sugar. Pampushky (pl., singular is pampusho'k) can also be filled with poppy seed or other sweet fillings.
Syrniki - fried curd fritters.
Cake - many varieties of cakes, from moist to puffy, most typical ones being Kyjivskyj, Prazhskyj, and Trufelnyj. They are frequently made without flour, instead using ground walnuts or almonds.
Zhele-(plural and singular) jellied fruits, like cherries, pears, etc. or "Ptashyne moloko"-milk/chocolate jelly.

Alcoholic Beverages

Strong spirits (horilka, vodka in Russian)-Samohon (moonshine) is also popular, including with infusions of fruit, spices or hot peppers.
Beer (pyvo)-the largest producers of beer are Obolon, Lvivske, Chernihivske, Slavutych, Sarmat and Rogan, which partly export their products.
Wine (vyno)-from Europe and Ukraine (particularly from Crimea).
Mead (mid, or medovuha)-very ancient recipe of honey wine which is regaining popularity. It tastes similar to cider, and comes in various proofs, depending on vintage.

History

Ukraine was the center of the first Slavic state, Kievan Rus, which during the 10th and 11th centuries was the largest and most powerful state in Europe. Weakened by internecine quarrels and Mongol invasions, Kievan Rus was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and eventually into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The cultural and religious legacy of Kievan 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 (1917-1920), 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, privatization, and civil liberties. A peaceful mass protest "Orange Revolution" in the closing months of 2004 forced the authorites to overturn a rigged presidential election and to allow a new internationally monitored vote that swept into power a reformist slate under Viktor YUSHCHENKO. The new government presents its citizens with hope that the country may at last attain true freedom and prosperity.

Transportation

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Terrain Most of Ukraine consists of fertile plains (steppes) and plateaus, mountains being found only in the west (the Carpathians), and in the Crimean Peninsula in the extreme south.

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Languages Ukrainian, Russian, Romanian, Polish, Hungarian

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Ethnic Groups Ukrainian 77.8%, Russian 17.3%, Belarusian 0.6%, Moldovan 0.5%, Crimean Tatar 0.5%, Bulgarian 0.4%, Hungarian 0.3%, Romanian 0.3%, Polish 0.3%, Jewish 0.2%, other 1.8% (2001)

Weather Temperate continental; Mediterranean only on the southern Crimean coast; precipitation disproportionately distributed, highest in west and north, lesser in east and southeast; winters vary from cool along the Black Sea to cold farther inland; summers are warm across the greater part of the country, hot in the south.

Religion Ukrainian Orthodox - Kiev Patriarchate 19%, Ukrainian Orthodox - Moscow Patriarchate 9%, Ukrainian Greek Catholic 6%, Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox 1.7%, Protestant, Jewish, none 38% (2004 est.)

Currency Hryvnia (UAH)

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