58 Facts About Ukraine

Ukraine is an Eastern European country. It is Europe's second-largest country, after Russia, with which it shares borders to the east and northeast.

Kiev, according to Ukrainian folklore, has up to three official witch gathering places. They both go by the name Lysa Hora (Bold Mountain).

Weaving on handlooms is still practised in some parts of the country, including Krupove in Rivne Oblast.

Unlike many other cultures, Ukrainians wear wedding rings on the right hand rather than the left.

The world-famous song "O Sole Mio" was written in the country.

Ukrainian romanticism began to emerge in the 1830s. Taras Shevchenko, a Romanticist poet-painter, was instrumental in this regard. He is widely considered to be the father of national revival.

Ivana Kupala Day, celebrated on June 23rd, is one of Ukraine's most enjoyable traditional celebrations. In a purification ritual, boys and girls hold hands and jump over a fire. Locals believe that if a couple can avoid the fire without losing their grip on each other, their love will last a lifetime.

The Ukrainian national costume is known as vyshyvanka. It is embellished with ornamental hand woven embroidery with floral detail. The costume is worn by both men and women on various occasions.

Kiev is widely regarded as the spiritual capital of the country. Pilgrims travel long distances to visit the Sofia Kyivska church and the Golden-Domed Monastery of St. Michael.

Ukraine is where the popular Easter egg tradition originated. Originally, the eggs were decorated with wax and dye. The wax was eventually removed, leaving an eye-catching pattern with vibrant colours.

Ukraine is also home to the world's longest musical instrument. Trembita is an apt name for the pipe piece.

Ukraine is dominated by Orthodox Christianity, which has a significant cultural impact. According to a 2021 study by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, 82% of the population is religious, 7% are atheists, and 11% are unsure.

Traditional Ukrainian weddings feature artisan textiles. The embroidery style is determined by the region from which the textile was sourced. Buyers can also select from a variety of historical motifs, stitching methods, and colours.

The film Battleship Potemkin, widely regarded as one of the best of all time, is about a mutiny in Ukraine in 1905. Mr Jones, about the Holodomor famine, and Everything is Illuminated, about the Holocaust, are two other notable films about the country.

Another edible symbol of the city is the Kyiv cake. It has two layers of meringue, a buttercream filling, a chocolate glaze, and hazelnuts on top. It was an unintentional discovery after a confectioner botched a biscuit, and colleagues took advantage of the situation.

Several Hollywood stars, including Milla Jovovich, who starred in The Fifth Element and Resident Evil, were born in Ukraine. Mila Kunis, known for films such as Gia and Black Swan, as well as the sitcom That '70s Show, is another.

Ukraine is regarded as having one of the most free press and Internet in the former Soviet Union. Leading newspapers primarily publish articles in Ukrainian, but some are also translated into Russian and English.

Chicken Kiev, an internationally famous dish, is said to have originated in the Ukrainian capital's Continental Hotel. It was their signature dish, boned and skinned chicken breast stuffed with butter and fried until golden.

Ukrainian civilizations have existed since 4800 B.C. The country is situated in a region where the Trypillian and Scythian civilizations flourished.

During WWII, Ukrainian religious leaders offered protection to thousands of Jews. Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky, one of the leaders, was honoured by the Anti-Defamation League in 2013 for his humanitarian work. Jews sought shelter in monasteries and Ukrainian homes.

Several archaeological sites that were previously Neanderthal settlements can be found in Ukraine. The settlements include a mammoth bone dwelling and are thought to be a possible location for horse domestication. The Molodova sites date from 43,000 to 45,000 BC.

Ukrainian Hetman Pylyp Orlyk drafted and presented the world's first constitution in 1710. The purpose of the document was to establish the separation of powers. It outlined citizens' and the government's responsibilities and rights.

In the nineteenth century, Russia and Austria showed little interest in Ukraine. The country was mostly rural. As Ukrainian modernization and urbanisation progressed, the situation shifted.

Following the Russo-Turkish War in the late 1700s, Catherine the Great and some of her successors advocated for increased German immigration into Ukraine. The primary goal was to dilute the country's demographic, which was dominated by a Turk population.

In 1945, Stalin, Churchill, and Roosevelt met at the Yalta Conference, which Ukraine hosted. The purpose of the meeting was to chart a course for postwar European organisation. Livadia Palace, the venue, is now a museum.

Ukraine experienced the world's worst nuclear power plant disaster in 1986. The disaster occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the country's north. Since then, the area has been designated as an exclusion zone. The disaster and declaration resulted in the formation of several ghost towns. Despite the high levels of radiation, the area attracts a large number of tourists. To assist the victims, the United Nations established the Chernobyl Trust Fund.

Kiev has Hero City status, which was bestowed by the Soviet Union in recognition of its valiant resistance to the Nazis in 1941. In what became known as the Battle of Kiev, the Germans surrounded the city.

The country has 1,000-year-old ties with Western Europe. When Anna, the daughter of Grand Prince Yaroslav, became Queen Consort of France in 1051, she helped pave the way for relationship strengthening. She was instrumental in introducing French people to Eastern culture.

In terms of modern humans, there are 32,000-year-old fossils discovered in the Crimean Mountains in 1991. Aside from the bones, there were ivory ornaments indicating ties to the Gravettian culture, which spread across Europe.

The University of Cambridge attempted to discover the origins of horse domestication. They traced everything back to the western Eurasian Steppe, which includes Ukraine, West Kazakhstan, and Southwest Russia, using various modelling techniques and a genetic database of horses.

From 700 BC to 200 BC, the territory of modern-day Ukraine was a part of the Scythian Kingdom. The Greeks called themselves "Scoloti," but they were known as Scythia. They were once nomadic, with a culture centred on horseback riding.

From the 10th to the 11th centuries, Kievan Rus was the most powerful European state, with Kyiv at its centre. The Golden Age began with the conversion of Vladimir the Great from paganism to Christianity. The kingdom followed in his footsteps.

In the 13th century, the Mongols invaded and destroyed Kyiv. They conquered much of Eastern Europe and advanced westward to the Atlantic Ocean. When Genghis Khan's son, Ogedei Khan, died, his followers returned to their homeland and spared the rest of the continent.

Russia, the Cossacks, Poland, the Ottoman Empire, and the Crimean Khanate fought for control of Ukraine from 1657 to 1686. The "Ruin Period" ended with the Treaty of Perpetual Peace between Russia and Poland.

Following the end of World War I, the Russian Empire was replaced by the Bolshevik-led Russian Republic. In 1922, Ukraine was one of the founding members of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. On August 24, 1991, Ukraine declared its independence. Its parliament declared that the country would no longer follow the laws of the USSR and would instead follow its own laws. The referendum on independence was overwhelmingly approved by voters in December of that year.

Varenyky, boiled dumplings with potatoes, sauerkraut, mushrooms, cottage cheese, or berries, is one of Ukraine's most popular traditional dishes. Borscht is a soup made with meat, mushrooms, cabbage, and beets.

Lviv has the highest density of cafes per capita in the world. It has up to 1,500 businesses.

According to reports, the McDonald's in Kiev is one of the busiest in the world.

Ukrainians adore horilka, a regional variant of the famous vodka. Locals frequently season this national drink with chilli pepper to give it a kick.

Locals also enjoy drinking Kompot, a non-alcoholic sweet beverage made from stewed fruit. It is made by cooking various fruits, including gooseberries, rhubarb, strawberries, apples, and sour berries, among others. Spices are frequently used to flavour the drink, especially when served hot during the winter months.

It has one of the lowest population densities in the world, with only 73 people per square kilometre.

Kyiv, the nation's capital, is also the largest city, with a population of nearly 3 million people. It can be found on both sides of the Dnipro River in North Central Ukraine. Kharkiv, Odessa, Dnipro, and Donetsk are also important cities.

Ukraine is divided into two biomes. The northern and western regions are a temperate forest with broadleaf trees. The southern and eastern regions, on the other hand, are steppes with grassland plains and few trees.

Mount Hoverla's summit is the highest point. It rises to a height of 2,061 metres (6,762 feet) above sea level. This part of the Carpathian Mountains has been a popular tourist destination since the late 1800s.

The Danube, Dnipro, Desna, Prypiat, Southern Buh, and Siverian Donets are Ukraine's seven major rivers. Approximately 95% of the country's rivers drain into the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.

Rainfall is much more common in the country's west and north. The Carpathian Mountains receive approximately 1,200 mm of precipitation per year. Meanwhile, Crimea to the south receives only 400 mm of rain per year.

In July, the temperature in Kyiv ranges from 61 to 78 degrees Fahrenheit and drops to 21 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit in January. The southeastern city of Dnipro is hotter, with temperatures ranging from 65 to 83 degrees in July and 21 to 32 degrees in January.

The Black Sea is surrounded by Russia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Georgia, and Romania, in addition to Ukraine. It empties into the Turkish Straits, which include the Bosporus and the Dardanelles. There is a deep layer of water that does not mix or drain, allowing ancient shipwrecks to be preserved.

The name of the country is widely assumed to be derived from the ancient Slavic term for borderland. It was known as "The Ukraine" until 1991, when it declared independence. The article was officially renamed "Ukraine" to be more politically correct.

Ukraine's land is covered in black earth, a nutrient-rich soil that makes the country one of the most fertile in the world. Because of its massive agricultural exports, it is known as Europe's breadbasket.

Ukraine is the world leader in sunflower oil production. It also ranks high in corn, wheat, potato, sugar beet, barley, tomatoes, apples, pumpkins, carrots, cucumbers, cabbage, rye, walnuts, buckwheat, dry peas, and honey production.

Ukraine has the fourth-highest number of IT-certified professionals, trailing only the United States, India, and Russia. As a result, it is a popular outsourcing destination for businesses all over the world. In 2019, it overtook the United Kingdom as Europe's largest exporter of IT services.

The country has significant mineral reserves, with half of the known deposits currently being exploited. According to USGS data from 2019, Ukraine ranks among the top ten producers of iron ore, manganese, titanium, graphite, and uranium.

Despite the fact that Ukraine produces gas, the majority of its fuel needs are met by imports from Russia and Turkmenistan. Ukraine's pipelines transport Russian gas to the European Union. This has serious implications for the economy and foreign policy.

When it comes to electricity supply, Ukraine maintains its independence. This is due to the fact that it has hydroelectric and nuclear power plants. Indeed, excess capacity is exported to Russia and other Eastern European countries.

The State Space Agency of Ukraine oversees the country's space rocket industry. The Zenit-3SL carrier rocket and the Antares rocket's first stage core were designed by the Yuzhnoye Design Office.

Shipbuilding companies in Ukraine built warships for the Soviet Union during the Soviet era. Following independence, the emphasis shifted to bulk tankers, whaling bases, dry cargo vessels, fishing trawlers, and similar vessels. Ship repair services are also provided by companies.

Ukraine is a popular tourist destination in Eastern Europe, attracting over 10 million visitors each year, the majority of whom come from neighbouring countries. The Carpathian Mountains are ideal for outdoor activities, while the Black Sea coastline features long sandy beaches. It also has historic castles, vineyards, beautiful churches, and other attractions.