Kyiv Ukraine

Description: Kyiv is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2,952,301, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Kyiv is an important industrial, scientific, educational, and cultural center in Eastern Europe. It is home to many high-tech industries, higher education institutions, and historical landmarks. The city has an extensive system of public transport and infrastructure, including the Kyiv Metro. The city’s name is said to derive from the name of Kyi, one of its four legendary founders.

Population: 2,952,301

Demographics: A 2015 study by the International Republican Institute found that 94% of Kyiv was ethnic Ukrainian, and 5% ethnic Russian. Most of the city’s non-Slav population comprises Tatars, South Caucasians, and other peoples from the former Soviet Union.

History: Scholars continue to debate when the city was founded: The traditional founding date is 482 CE, so the city celebrated its 1,500th anniversary in 1982. Archaeological data indicates a founding in the sixth or seventh centuries, with some researchers dating the founding as late as the late 9th century. Another name for Kyiv mentioned in history, the origin of which is not completely clear, is Sambat, which apparently has something to do with the Khazar Empire. Occupied by Russian troops since the 1654 Treaty of Pereyaslav, Kyiv became a part of the Tsardom of Russia from 1667 on the Truce of Andrusovo and enjoyed a degree of autonomy. None of the Polish-Russian treaties concerning Kyiv have ever been ratified. In the Russian Empire, Kyiv was a primary Christian centre, attracting pilgrims, and the cradle of many of the empire’s most important religious figures, but until the 19th century, the city’s commercial importance remained marginal. During the Russian industrial revolution in the late 19th century, Kyiv became an important trade and transportation centre of the Russian Empire, specialising in sugar and grain export by railway and on the Dnieper river. By 1900, the city had also become a significant industrial centre, with a population of 250,000. From 1921 to 1991, the city formed part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, which became a founding republic of the Soviet Union in 1922. The major events that took place in Soviet Ukraine during the interwar period all affected Kyiv: the 1920s Ukrainization as well as the migration of the rural Ukrainophone population made the Russophone city Ukrainian-speaking and bolstered the development of Ukrainian cultural life in the city; the Soviet industrialization that started in the late 1920s turned the city, a former centre of commerce and religion, into a major industrial, technological and scientific centre. In the course of the collapse of the Soviet Union the Ukrainian parliament proclaimed the Declaration of Independence of Ukraine in the city on 24 August 1991. In 2004–2005, the city played host to the largest post-Soviet public demonstrations up to that time, in support of the Orange Revolution. From November 2013 until February 2014, central Kyiv became the primary location of Euromaidan. During the onset of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russian forces attempted to seize Kyiv but were repelled by Ukrainian forces on the outskirts of the city. Following the Russian retreat from the region in April 2022, Kyiv has been subject to frequent aerial attacks.

Elevation: 179 m

Climate: Humid continental climate. Average annual temperature in Kyiv is 11 C (52 F), the average for July is 22 C (71 F), the average for January is -3 C (26 F).

Attractions: Kreshchatyk, The Motherland Monument, Andriivskyi Descent, Maidan Nezalejnosti, St. Volodymyr’s Cathedral,

Airports: Kyiv Sikorsky International Airport IEV, Boryspil International Airport KBP

Distance To City Centre: 40 km

Commute Length: 45 min

Average Transportation Cost: 55 EUR

Traffic Hours: 7 am – 9 am, 5 pm – 7 pm