Kiev became the capital in 1917, after the Ukrainian National Republic declared independence from the Russian Empire. Since 1921 Kiev was a city of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, and, from 1934, Kiev was its capital.. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Kiev remained the capital of independent Ukraine. In 2004–2005, the city underwent the largest post-Soviet public demonstrations, in support of the Orange Revolution. From November 2013 until February 2014, central Kiev was the primary location of Euromaidan.

Kiev is a modern city with many monuments and more then 100 museums. The capital is also known as a the most green city, the area of the green zone is taken up by woods, public gardens, botanical gardens and parks.

The country is popular for its traditional Ukrainian cuisine, included soup borscht, paska (Easter bread), varenyky (called also pyrohy), smoked meat or caviar.  

The attractions which you shouldn´t miss:

• Kiev Pechersk Lavra (also known as the Kiev Monastery of the Caves) – the huge Orthodox Christian Monastery complex, founded in 1051. In 1990 the Lavra was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• St. Sophia Cathedral – the famous historical and architectural monument, built in 1037. Since 1990 the Cathedral belongs into the UNESCO Heritage Site. 
• Andriyivskyy Descent – one of the most popular street in Kiev, traditional place for arranging concerts, art festivals and other events.
• House With Chimaeras – the Art Nouveau building constructed by architect Vladislav Gorodetsky. Since 2005 the building has been used as a presidental residence for official and diplomatic ceremonies.
• Golden Gate – constructed in 1017–1024 by Yaroslav the Wise, the Gate was a main entrance to Kiev. Currently it serves as a museum.
• Maidan Nezalezhnosti  (Independence Square) – the central square, traditional place for political rallies and radical protest campaignes. It containes six fountains, Independence Column, artificial waterfall and other attractions.
• Pyrohiv (Pirogovo) musem - the biggest Open-Air museum of Folk architecture and Culture in Europe

Maybe you didn´t know that...

• Kiev is the 8th largest city in Europe.
• Ukraine contains around 5% of the worlds minerals resources.
• The national flag of Ukraine are belived to represent blue skies above yellow wheat fields.
• The first computer in continental Europe was built in Kiev under the supervision of Sergey Lebedev and Victor Glushkov in 1950.
• Popular novelist and playwriter Mikhail Bulgakov was born in Kiev, he is the best known for the novel The Master and Margarita.
• Scientists have found the most ancient map and settlement of the Homo Sapiens at the territory of modern Kiev.
• The Ukrainian language took the 2nd position in the world on melodic criteria after Italian. Also, it was ranked as the 3rd most beautiful language in the world on the following criteria: phonetics, lexicon, phraseology and sentences structure after French and Persian languages at the linguistic contest which was held in Paris in 1934.

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