Table of contents
Table of contents
I. General information about Ukraine
II. Industry and agriculture
III. Economy of Ukraine
IV. The Interesting places in Kyiv
The utillized literature
I. The nation’s history began with that of the East Slavs. From at least
the 9th century, the territory of Ukraine was a center of the medieval
East Slavic civilization forming the state of Kievan Rus’, which
disintegrated in the 12th century. From the 14th century on, the
territory of Ukraine was divided among a number of regional powers and
by the 19th century the largest part of Ukraine was integrated into the
Russian Empire with the rest under Austro-Hungarian control. After a
chaotic period of incessant warfare and several attempts at independence
(1917–1921) following the Russian Revolution and the Great War, Ukraine
emerged in 1922 as one of the founding republics of the Soviet Union.
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic’s territory was enlarged
westward shortly before and after the Second World War, and again in
1954 with the Crimea transfer. In 1945, the Ukrainian SSR became one of
the co-founding members of the United Nations. Ukraine became
independent again after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.
This began a transition period to a market economy, in which Ukraine was
stricken with eight straight years of economic decline. But since about
the turn of the century, the economy has been experiencing a stable
increase, with real GDP growth averaging about seven percent annually.
Ukraine is a unitary state composed of 24 oblasts (provinces), one
autonomous republic (Crimea), and two cities with special status: Kiev,
its capital, and Sevastopol, which houses the Russian Black Sea Fleet
under a leasing agreement. Ukraine is a republic under a
semi-presidential system with separate legislative, executive, and
judicial branches. At the end of 2004, the country underwent an
extensive constitutional reform that has changed the balance of power
among the parliament, the prime minister, and the cabinet, as well as
their relationship with the president.
At 603,700 km? (233,074 sq mi) and with a coastline of 2,782 km (1,729
sq mi), Ukraine is the world’s 44th-largest country (after the Central
African Republic, before Madagascar). It is the second largest country
in Europe (after the European part of Russia, before metropolitan
France).
The Ukrainian landscape consists mostly of fertile plains (or steppes)
and plateaus, crossed by rivers such as the Dnieper (Dnipro), 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 m (6,762 ft), and those on the Crimean peninsula, in
the extreme south along the coast.
Ukraine has a mostly temperate continental climate, although a more
Mediterranean climate is found on the southern Crimean coast.
Precipitation is disproportionately distributed; it is highest in the
west and north and lesser in the east and southeast. Western Ukraine,
receives around 1,200 mm of precipitation, annually. While Crimea,
receives around 400 mm of precipitation. Winters vary from cool along
the Black Sea to cold farther inland. Average annual temperatures range
from 5.5–7 °C in the north, to 11–13 °C in the south.
According to 1887 estimates by Austro-Hungarian geographers, the
Ukrainian city of Rakhiv (48°45?N, 18°55?E) is the site of the
geographical centre of Europe. However, this is disputed by other
European cities and the question has not yet been answered.
II. By the mid-80s a multi-branch, developed industry was created in
Ukraine covering about 20 major industries, namely power generating,
fuel, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, chemical and petrochemical and
gas, machine-building and metal-working, forest, wood-working and wood
pulp and paper, construction materials, light, food and others. In 1990,
for instance, approximately 300 billion kWh of energy, approximately 40
million tons of ferrous metals rolled stock, and 6.5 million tons of
steel pipes were produced; more than 100 million tons of iron ore were
mined; 37 thousand metal cutting machine-tools, and more than 100
thousand tractors were manufactured in Ukraine.
Ukraine has five nuclear power stations with fifteen reactors with a
total power output of 13.6 thousand MW (13 reactors of WWR type and 2
reactors of RBMK type in the Chernobyl NPS). In addition there are 47
thermal power stations with a total power output of 32.4 thousand MW, 6
large hydraulic power stations on the Dnieper and 55 small stations on
other rivers.
In the coal-mining industry, more than 300 mines are operated in three
coal-mining regions. Ukraine produces only 5.5 million tons of its own
oil, but the ramified network of oil pipelines supports the operation of
10 petroleum plants. The Ukrainian gas pipelines transport the Russian
gas to Central and Western Europe.
Approximately 200 large enterprises are operating in ferrous and
non-ferrous metallurgy, pipe and rolling industry. These include the
world largest complexes for the production of cast iron, steel, rolled
stock and pipes in Dniepropetrovsk, Zaporozhje, Donetsk, Makeevka,
Mariupol and other cities.
The mechanical engineering sector is represented by enterprises
producing metallurgical, oil, chemical, mining, power generating,
railway (locomotives, carriages, tank-cars, etc.), road construction and
transportation (ships, aircraft, cars, city transport) equipment,
machinery for agriculture, light and food industry, metal-cutting
machine tools, instrumentation.
The Zaporozhje ‘Motor-Sich’ plant manufactures aircraft engines for all
the CIS countries. One of the world largest aerospace concerns –
‘Pivdenny’ – is functioning in Dniepropet-rovsk; Kharkov turbines are
known in many countries. A high-capacity chemical production complex is
located in the city of Kaloush.
Altogether, the industry of Ukraine includes more than 10000 state and
joint stock enterprises, and hundreds of private and collectively owned
small and medium-sized businesses have been established over the last
years, which operate in various industries.
Historically Ukraine was an agro-industrial country. Black-earth soil,
which occupies 60% of Ukrainian land, is natural wealth of Ukraine.
More, than 40% of all agricultural production of Ukraine is grown
without using of any pesticides and, as a result, Ukrainian food is the
most natural and safely in Europe. Among all the European countries
Ukraine is a leader of growing of sugar beet, buckwheat and carrot;
second place of growing of wheat (after Russia) and of tomato (after
Poland). Ukraine is also famous because of corn, watermelon, tomato,
apple and pear. 28% of all population of Ukraine works in agriculture
sector. After destruction of USSR in Ukraine appear farms (average 350
hectares) and family households (0.3 – 5 hectares). Every year quantity
of farms increases and, as a result, increases productivity. Farms are
able to buy modern techniques and enough pesticides, but the food, which
they produce, is not as natural as the food of family households.
There are many problems in agriculture in my country, but 4 – 5 of them
are global, and their solution is very difficult. There are problems of
land degradation, technological problem, pollution of environment and
irrational using of lands.
High percentage of humus (more than 7 %) helped farmers to gather high
harvest without using of any fertilizers. But about 60 years ago
fertility of earth suddenly declined because of process of
industrialization, which took place in Ukraine. As a result, now we have
only 3,5% of humus and the process of land degradation is very actual
problem in my country. Many farms still do not care that renovation of
productivity of land will take hundreds or thousands of years, and they
continue using land in incorrect way. We have also many problems with
technology in farms. Many farms, which do not have enough money to buy
new techniques, use old machines with low productivity. Those machines
pollute environment much more, than the new ones. The system of
recycling is not developed in Ukraine at all and it negatively
influences on agriculture too. Farms throw out a lot of different
things, which can be successfully used in other farms or in plants. In
this case it appear many hills of rubbish which have negative influence
not only on environment, but also on agriculture of areas which are
closely located to those hills. But the biggest problem of agriculture
in Ukraine is irrational using of land. After destruction of USSR
collective farms were distributed completely incorrectly. Many
households (family farms) have area more than 2 hectares, even more than
5 hectares, but their owners use only 1 hectare, and the other part of
land is not in use.
Agricultural system in Ukraine is characterized as instable. Now
Ukrainian government tries to realize Main Agriculture Law, according to
which it will be possible to buy and sell land and also to rent land for
long period. This law will increase in agriculture much and will allow
foreign investors to organize farms with the highest productivity and
profit. Owners, which do not use bigger part of their land, will be able
to sell it. It will be very useful for both foreign investors and
Ukrainian government.
III. In Soviet times, the economy of Ukraine was the second largest in
the Soviet Union, being an important industrial and agricultural
component of the country’s planned economy. With the collapse of the
Soviet system, the country moved from a planned economy to a market
economy. The transition process was difficult for the majority of the
population which plunged into poverty. Ukraine’s economy contracted
severely following the years after the Soviet collapse. Day to day life
for the average person living in Ukraine was a struggle. A significant
number of citizens in rural Ukraine survived by growing their own food,
often working two or more jobs and buying the basic necessities through
the barter economy.
In 1991, the government liberalized most prices to combat widespread
product shortages, and was successful in overcoming the problem. At the
same time, the government continued to subsidize government-owned
industries and agriculture by uncovered monetary emission. The loose
monetary policies of the early 1990s pushed inflation to
hyperinflationary levels. For the year 1993, Ukraine holds the world
record for inflation in one calendar year. Those living on fixed incomes
suffered the most. Prices stabilized only after the introduction of new
currency, the hryvnia, in 1996.
The country was also slow in implementing structural reforms. Following
independence, the government formed a legal framework for privatization.
However, widespread resistance to reforms within the government and from
a significant part of the population soon stalled the reform efforts. A
large number of government-owned enterprises were exempt from the
privatization process. In the meantime, by 1999, the output had fallen
to less than 40 percent of the 1991 level, but recovered to slightly
above the 100 percent mark by the end of 2006.
Ukraine’s 2006 GDP (PPP) is ranked 28th in the world and estimated at
$364.3 billion.Nominal GDP (in U.S. dollars, calculated at market
exchange rate) was $106.11 billion, ranked 51st in the world.
In the early 2000s, the economy showed strong export-based growth of 5
to 10 percent, with industrial production growing more than 10 percent
per year. The growth was largely attributed to a surge in exports of
metals and chemicals to China.
The World Bank classifies Ukraine as a middle-income state. Significant
issues include underdeveloped infrastructure and transportation,
corruption and bureaucracy. But the rapidly growing Ukrainian economy
has a very interesting emerging market with a relatively big population,
and large profits associated with the high risks. The Ukrainian stock
market grew 10 times between 2000 and 2006, including 341 percent growth
in 2004, 28 percent in 2005, and 24 percent in 2006. According to the
CIA, in 2006 the market capitalization of the Ukrainian stock market was
$42.87 billion. Growing sectors of the Ukrainian economy include the IT
Outsourcing market, which was expected to grow over 25 percent in 2007.
By December 2007 the average nominal salary in Ukraine reached 1,675
hryvnias per month. Despite remaining lower than in neighboring central
European countries, the annual growth of average salary income in real
terms is about 20 percent for several years (2001-2006) in a row.
Ukraine produces nearly all types of transportation vehicles and
spacecraft. Antonov airplanes and KrAZ trucks are exported to many
countries. The majority of Ukrainian exports are marketed to the
European Union and CIS.
The country imports most energy supplies, especially oil and natural
gas, and to a large extent depends on Russia as an energy supplier.
While 25 percent of the natural gas in Ukraine comes from internal
sources, about 35 percent comes from Russia and the remaining 40 percent
from Central Asia through transit routes that Russia controls. At the
same time, 85 percent of the Russian gas is delivered to Western Europe
through Ukraine.
After 15 years of negotiations, Ukraine was invited to join the World
Trade Organization on February 5, 2008. Ukraine will have to ratify the
agreements by July 4, 2008, and will become a WTO member 30 days after
the ratification. It will become the 152nd member of the organization.
IV. It is said that one can walk from one end of Kiev to the other in
the summertime without leaving the shade of its many trees. Most
characteristic are the horse-chestnuts (Ukrainian: eaooaie, kashtany).
Kiev is known as a green city with two botanical gardens and numerous
large and small parks. The green nature of the city is probably most
notable by the green hills of the right bank along the Dnieper river
that have been relatively untouched by development. The World War II
Museum is located here, which offers both indoor and outdoor displays of
military history and equipment surrounded by verdant hills overlooking
the Dnieper river.
Among the numerous islands, Venetsianskyi (or Hidropark) is the most
developed. It is accessible by metro or by car, and includes an
amusement park, swimming beaches, boat rentals, and night clubs. The
Victory Park (Park Peremohy) located near Darnytsia subway station is a
popular destination for strollers, joggers, and cyclists.
Boating, fishing, and water sports are popular pastimes in Kiev. The
area lakes and rivers freeze over in the winter and ice fishermen are a
frequent sight, as are children with their ice skates. However, the peak
of summer draws out a greater mass of people to the shores for swimming
or sunbathing, with daytime high temperatures sometimes reaching 30 to
34 °C (86–93 °F).
The centre of Kiev (Independence Square and Khreschatyk Street) becomes
a large outdoor party place at night during summer months, with
thousands of people having a good time in nearby restaurants, clubs and
outdoor cafes. The central streets are closed for auto traffic on
weekends and holidays.
A wide variety of farm produce is available in many of Kiev’s farmer
markets with the Besarabsky Market located in the very centre of the
city being most famous. Each residential region has its own market, or
rynok. Here one will find table after table of individuals hawking
everything imaginable: vegetables, fresh and smoked meats, fish, cheese,
honey, dairy products such as milk and home-made smetana (sour cream),
caviar, cut flowers, housewares, tools and hardware, and clothing. Each
of the markets has its own unique mix of products with some markets
devoted solely to specific wares such as automobiles, car parts, pets,
clothing, flowers, etc.. There is also a popular book market by the
Petrivka metro station.
At the city’s southern outskirts, near the historic Pyrohiv village,
there is an outdoor museum, officially called the Museum of Folk
Architecture and Life of Ukraine It has an area of 1.5 square kilometres
(1 sq mi). This territory houses several “mini-villages” that represent
by region the traditional rural architecture of Ukraine.
Kiev also has numerous recreational attractions like bowling alleys,
go-cart tracks, paintball venues, billiard halls and even shooting
ranges. 100-year-old Kiev Zoo is located on 40 hectares and carries over
2,000 specimens.
The utillized literature
1. “Wikipedia”, the free encyclopedia.
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