Quick Facts:

Languages: Ukrainian, Russian, Romanian, Polish, Hungarian
Religion:  
 Orthodox 63%
 Catholic 12%
 Non-religious 11%
 Protestant 3%
 Evangelical 3%
Time Zone: GMT +2 hours
Currency: Ukraine grynia (UHA)
Population of Kiev: 3.4 million
Pop. of Ukraine: 49 million
Income/person/year: $1,040
Urban population: 68%

Overview:

Established in the fifth century, Kiev is the founding city of Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus. All three of those countries descended from Kievan Rus, the Slavic state that existed from the ninth to the eleventh centuries. Since then, Kiev has survived devastating fires, Mongol invasions, Communist urban planning, and the massive destruction of World War II. 

The Old Town is concentrated around the northeastern end of vulitsya Volodymyrska and contains most of Kiev's historic landmarks. The central attraction is the eleventh century St. Sophia Cathedral, the city's oldest standing church, which contains some of the country's greatest mosaics and frescoes. A few blocks south of the cathedral is Kiev's main commercial promenade, the vulitsya Khreshchatyk, a bustling street lined with shops. At the southern end of Khreshchatyk, the aisles at the Bessarabsky Market are filled with fruit and vegetable vendors. Old Town is within walking distance of central Kiev. 

Another attraction is the chilling but fascinating Chernobyl Museum, where exhibits document the worst nuclear disaster in history and bring home the fact that it happened only 100 km (62 mi) to the north. South of the Old Town along the river is the Pechersk district, the historic ecclesiastical center and site of the Caves Monastery, founded in 1051. Spread across wooded slopes above the Dnipro a few kilometers south of the city center, the monastery is a collection of gold-domed churches, underground labyrinths lined with mummified monks, and elegant monastic buildings turned into museums, one of which is packed with Scythian gold. The Dormition Cathedral, part of the monastery complex, dates from the late eleventh century. Despite being partially destroyed by the Red Army during World War II, it is one of the country's greatest Baroque religious buildings.

eDOT has been working with Bible Mission, with the goal of training teachers for a CD-ROM- and Internet-based Bible course and for Internet evangelistic Web sites. We helped in the course design and planning. This was a major project to implement our first Internet-based distance learning course. It was finished in June 2004. Go to the site – www.bm-ibs.org – and let us know what you think (of course, it is in Russian). We have also setup 11 eLearning Centers in Ukraine since June 2002. We are planning to install 35 more over the next four years. We have developed a strong partnership with the Zaporozhye Bible College and Seminary (ZBC&S). We have set up a regional support site for eLearning Centers and are helping them develop a distance learning program. To see what else GEM is doing in Ukraine click here.

Kiev Travel Guide and Photo Gallery