Welcome to my site!
Why do I do the site
I am an international exchange student from Ukraine studying at Bemidji State University, Minnesota, U.S. this year. I've been asked to make a presentation about my country for students in Dr. Dada M. Maglajlic International Communication class. It was hard to cover everything I wanted to tell in 50 minutes class. After the presentation I began to recall more and more things I would like to tell but didn't remember about in class. Or, maybe, there were not suitable moment to mention what I would like American students to know.
So I decided to create this web site where I could set up all I want to say and where I could add information and my observations to the pages I have on this site. I could use it as a helpful tool to give other presentations about Ukraine.
Purpose
I want to tell Americans about Ukraine. To tell them about another country, maybe about one they never heard before. I want to give them impression of what Ukraine is, so that those who are interested could read what I know about Ukraine as a citizen.
Content
You will find my own opinion and knowledge of Ukraine reflected on this site, and also references to other sites where you could find some information in depth and take a look at it.
Where is Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in the Eastern Europe. If you imagine where Germany is, Poland will be to the east, and Ukraine is to the east of Poland. Click here to see the map:
Ukraine is bordered by Russia to the east and north; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldova to the west. The Black Sea and the Sea of Azov are locate to the south of the country.
What is Ukraine
Ukraine is not Russia and it is neither a part of Russia. These are now two independent countries that used to be Soviet Union republics, where Republic of Russia was more powerful than all the rest 14 Soviet republics.
- Territory - 233,100 square miles (603,700 square km)
- Population - 50 million people
- Capital - Kyiv
- Large cities - Kharkiv, Lviv, Odessa, Mykolaiv, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhja, Poltava, Chernigiv
- Main river - Dnipro
Click here to view the map of Ukraine:
http://www.wu-wien.ac.at/groups/ukraine_hp/ukrmap.html
Ukraine is a small country, it's only like Texas in size, thus, it's quite different from the U.S. We don't have that much space, that broad roads, that huge parking-lots and malls. Everything is much smaller, although one can meet a variety of climate and nature conditions.
Nature
A central 'black belt' of humus-rich soil - one of the world's most fertile regions - covers nearly two-thirds of Ukraine. Large tracts are set aside as grazing land, and in spring they explode into brilliant, swaying seas of maky (red poppies), sonyashnyky (sunflowers) and golden mustard. Breaking up the flat, heavily cultivated grasslands are a few patches of oak, maple, linden and ash forests. Willow and aspen grow along the rivers. A thin belt of forest runs across the north of the country, consisting mostly of silver fir, beech, oak and spruce.
There are Carpathian Mountians in the east of the country that extend over more than 150 miles (240 km). Crimean Peninsula, in the extreme south, has both lowlands and low mountains.
The Black Sea and the Sea of Azov wash the southern coast of Ukraine. The main water supply comes from the longest rever in the country and one of the largest in Europe - the Dnipro River- that runs from north to south. The Dnipro, Don, Dniester, and other rivers all drain southward through the plains to fall into the Azov-Black Sea Basin. The Dnipro is extensively dammed along much of its course for hydroelectric and irrigation purposes.
Climate
There is regular four seasons change in Ukraine. The inland country has a relatively moderate continental climate. The hottest month is July, when the daily high averages 25°C (80°F), while January, the coldest month, averages around freezing - -15 °C(- 8 °F). Here I had to convince people that it is mch warmer in Ukraine then it it here, in Bemidji. My Dad emailed me that this winter the coldest temperature they had had in Ukraine was - 15 °C . And almost no snow throughout the whole wnter time.
People living in the South of Ukraine have a little bit different idea of season change, as they hardly have any snow there at all. It rarely dips below freezing on the coast.
Southen coast of Crimea has subtropical climate, because the Crimearian Mountains prevent the coast from the cold north winds.
Click here to check weather in some Ukrainian cities:
http://www.brama.com/cgi-bin/rd.cgi?http://weather.yahoo.com/forecast/Kiev_UR_c.html
Population
Ethnic Ukrainians make up more than seven-tenths of the total
population of about fifty million people. The Ukrainian language
is related to Russian and Belarussian and belongs to the Slavic
group of languages. Russians are the largest minority group,
accounting for about two-tenths of the population. Other ethnic
minorities of varying sizes are Belarussian, Moldavians, Poles,
Bulgarians, Jews, Greeks, Tartars, and others. The highest population
densities are found in the industrialized Donets Basin and Dnipro
Bend regions and in the agriculturally productive forest-steppe
belt.
Industries and agriculture
The belt of mixed forest and steppe running west-east across south-central Ukraine has rich black soils whose intense cultivation has made the country a major producer of winter wheat and sugar beets. Other crops include sunflower seeds, corn (maize), potatoes, grapes, oats, rye, millet, and buckwheat. Fruits and vegetables are grown on the outskirts of cities, and cattle and pigs are raised throughout the country.
Ukraine has rich reserves of iron ore, bituminous and an thracite
coals, and manganese-bearing ores located in close proximity
to each other. This region, in east-central Ukraine, is the industrial
heartland of the country and one of the major heavy-industrial
and mining-metallurgical complexes of Europe.
Besides its basic mining industries, Ukraine has ferrous-metals
industries that produce iron and steel in large quantities. Durable
goods manufactured include mining and metallurgical equipment,
automobiles, and tractors.The chemical industry produces large
amounts of sulphuric acid and mineral fertilizers. Ukraine's
food-processing industries yield a wide spectrum of all kinds
of food of good quality.
Political System
Ukraine's political system underwent rapid changes in the early
1990s after the country gained its independence from the collapsing
Soviet Union in late 1991. Ukraine's parliament is called the
Verkhovna Rada (Supreme Council), whose members (People's Deputies)
are chosen to four-year terms in free, multicandidate elections.
The chief executive of Ukraine is the president, who is also
chosen in free elections. The day-to-day administration of the
government rests in the hands of the prime minister, who heads
the Cabinet of Ministers and is chosen by the president with
parliamentary approval.
Click here to view Ukrainian paper money:
http://www.brama.com/ukraine/hryvni.html
Copyright © 2001 Anna Landar
Questions and coments to anna_landar@hotmail.com
Last modified March 9, 2001