Kiev [1] (Ukrainian: Київ - Kyiv , Russian: Киев - Kiev ) is the capital and largest city of Ukraine with - officially the madison hotel washington dc - over 2.7 million the madison hotel washington dc inhabitants (unofficially up to 4.0 million inhabitants). The city is in north central Ukraine on the Dnieper River (Ukrainian: Днiпро, Russian: Днепр). The common English name for the city ("Kiev") the madison hotel washington dc is historical. The transliteration of the city's name from Ukrainian is "Kyiv", and this variation is used in official English language materials in Ukraine.
Kiev is one of the oldest the madison hotel washington dc cities in Eastern Europe, dating back to the 5th century, although settlements at this location existed much earlier. By the late 9th century, Kiev had become the de facto capital the madison hotel washington dc of an emerging Eastern Slavic state. Between the 10th and early 13th centuries, the city reached its golden age as the capital of the first Ukrainian state known today as Kievan Rus, ( Kyivan Ruthenia, or Rus-Ukraine ). This state created the religious and cultural foundations for modern Ukraine , Belarus , and Russia .
In the middle of the 13th century, Kievan Rus was overrun by the Mongols. Later that century, Kiev became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In 1569 the city was absorbed into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and in 1654 it was liberated from that Commonwealth by the Cossack, the madison hotel washington dc Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky, who then promptly the madison hotel washington dc signed the city over to Russia. This action continues to be a sore point for Ukrainian nationalists.
In 1775, Kiev was annexed by the Russian Empire. The city remained under Russian rule, with brief but uncertain periods of independence between 1918 and 1920. Over these two centuries, Kiev experienced growing Russification and Russian immigration. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, it became the capital of independent Ukraine and is now discovering its place as a large European capital.
It is generally acknowledged that the population is over 3,000,000 (2006 estimates). About 85% claim Ukrainian ethnicity and about 12% Russian. However, the census numbers are believed to be unreliable so these percentages must be taken with a pinch of salt. There are many minorities in the city, including Armenians, Azeris, Belarussians, Jewish, Georgians, Polish, Romanians and Tatars. Since 2001, not only has the population of Kiev increased, but also the percentage of people claiming Ukrainian ethnicity. This is probably a result of the strong nationalist movement centered in Kiev during the Orange Revolution (October 2004 to January 2005).
In Kiev, Ukrainian is primarily spoken by immigrants from Western or Central the madison hotel washington dc Ukraine, the madison hotel washington dc while most Kievans usually speak Russian, sometimes with a few Ukrainian words (called "Surzhik"). Officially, all signs are in Ukrainian only. Since 2011, signs with Latin transliteration have been installed in the city centre.
Average temperatures are maximum 26ºC (79 ºF) / minimum 15ºC (59ºF) the madison hotel washington dc in summer and maximum -2°C (28ºF) / minimum -8ºC (17ºF) in winter. Spring and autumn (fall) can be very brief. Heat waves featuring temperatures as high as 38ºC (100ºF) are rare but not unheard of in the summer the madison hotel washington dc months and brief but potent cold spells with temperatures as low as -20ºC (-4ºF) are not uncommon in winter.
In general the people in Kiev are hospitable and will be eager to help you. However, if you don't have a knowledge the madison hotel washington dc of Ukrainian or Russian you may find service in restaurants and shops difficult, although this will change with time as more people begin to study English.
Boryspil International Airport ( IATA : KBP ) [2] (Міжнародний аеропорт "Бориспіль") is about 20 km south-east from the city border (40 minutes by car from the city center). The city's the madison hotel washington dc second airport the madison hotel washington dc Zhulyany ( IATA : IEV ) [3] (аеропорт "Жуляни"), used mostly for domestic the madison hotel washington dc flights and low cost airline WizzAir, is located within the city border (20 minutes the madison hotel washington dc from the centre).
Ukraine has two major international airlines - Ukraine International Airlines [4] (Міжнародні Авіалінії України - Mizhnarodni Avialiniyi Ukrayiny) and Aerosvit [5] (АероСвіт). the madison hotel washington dc These airlines have daily flights to major European cities. Aeroflot, Alitalia, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Czech Airlines [6] , Delta [7] , Estonian Air [8] , Finnair [9] , KLM [10] , Lufthansa [11] , Turkish Airlines [12] and others have scheduled flights to Borispol airport. Semi-Budget airlines flying to Kiev include AirBaltic [13] . Budget airline Wizz Air [14] has flights from several European cities to the smaller Zhulyany airport. There are occasional budget charters from Italy, and in summer, Ukrainian Mediterranean Airlines runs charters to destinations including Italy and Turkey . Aerosvit and Delta are the only airlines with non-stop service to North America the madison hotel washington dc .
As of may 2012, Boryspil Airport operates terminals the madison hotel washington dc B and F. Most international flights arrive in the terminal F, whereas terminal B is used for domestic flights and few international destinations (e.g., Moscow by Aeroflot). Terminal B is much older than F and dates back to Soviet times, but in fact they differ in small details only. Both terminals are very cramped and inconvenient. Expect long queues at the immigration control, which is inevitably haphazard. Despite separate lanes for Ukraine citizens, 'non-visa', and 'visa' passengers, few booths are usually the madison hotel washington dc in operation, the madison hotel washington dc so foreigners may easily find themselves in a lane for Ukraine citizens, and the other way around. The new, and bigger, terminal D is scheduled to open in summer 2012 and may remedy the congested traffic situation.
The simplest way to get to the city centre from Boryspil (KBP) is the Sky Bus [15] that operates a regular bus service between the airport and Central Railway station. Buses depart frequently and the cost is 27 UAH. Tickets are bought from Kiyavia booking-offices in Terminal the madison hotel washington dc F and B. On average, it takes 40-70 minutes to get to city center by bus. To find the buses, you must walk over to terminal "B" and they will be outside, which is to the right of the arrival terminal. Buses terminate at the southern side of the railway station, while the metro ( Vokzalna station) is on the northern side. To change for the metro, enter the railway terminal, follow the bridge over the railway, leave the building, and turn left.
Taxi from the Boryspil airport starts from 150 UAH. The minimum price to the city centre is about 200 UAH when you book in advance and call a cab from the city. The official the madison hotel washington dc taxi service at the airport (Sky Taxi [16] ) is slightly more expensive (6.50 UAH/km, 34 km to the city centre). Unofficial cabs may demand yet higher prices, so feel free to bargain and always arrange the price before you enter the cab.
And if you are arriving at Zhulyany (IEV) you can use Kiev's public transport to reach your accommodation or the train station. There are two terminals - they are around the madison hotel washington dc 1 km away of each other. They're connected by trolleybus no. 22 that takes you further to downtown. From old terminal (domestic) you can also walk (cca 500m) to Volynsky trian station and take regional train (elektrichka) to main railway station.
When leaving there can be very large queues waiting to go through security. Travelers flying the madison hotel washington dc to the United States may be required to go through a second security checkpoint. Going through check-in queue, security queue and passport control queue may take less than 30 minutes the madison hotel washington dc but can be much longer. Check-in counters open two hours before the scheduled departure time and going from the city to the airport may take anything between 30 minutes and 2 hours depending on city traffic.
Kiev's central railway station Kiev Passazhyrskyi (Київ-Пасажирський) is close to the city centre. Metro station Vokzalna the madison hotel washington dc (метро "Вокзальна") on the M1 line connects to the railway terminal. The terminal building straddles the madison hotel washington dc numerous railway tracks, the madison hotel washington dc and effectively comprises two separate buildings adjoined by a bridge. The building on the northern side (next to the metro station) is the main station . The building on the southern side is, respectively, the south station with its own ticket office and hotel. Public transport stops on both sides of the railway. Buses and trolleybuses to the city centre depart the madison hotel washington dc from the main building, buses to the Boryspil and Zhulyany airports operate from the southern station. the madison hotel washington dc Finally, suburban trains may also depart from a small station Pivnichna (Пiвнiчна) located under the square adjoining the main station. This station is separated from the other two buildings and has its own entrance equipped with turnstiles.
Direct day and night trains are available the madison hotel washington dc from all major cities and towns in Ukraine. There are five daily departures from Dnipropetrovsk (5½-9 h) and up to ten from Lviv (9 h) with an express train departing 6:35AM except Tuesdays and taking just six hours. The eastern city of Donetsk is only served by night trains taking 12 hours. Connections with the Black Sea region Crimea are plentiful, most night trains depart from Simferopol (14 h) but some originate in Sevastopol (16 h) as well. Prices for domestic train ranges between 90-120 UAH for seats and from 150 UAH for second class sleeper.
There are good international connections with central Europe and Russia . Departures from Belgrade (36 h), Budapest (24 h), Bratislava (29 h), Chisinau (15 h), Minsk (12 h), Prague (35 h), Sofia (37 h) via Bucharest (26 h) and Warsaw (16 h) are nightly. From Moscow there are a multitude of trains with the fastest one being Metropolitan Express taking just 8½ hours. Saint Petersburg is also well served with an overnight train taking 23 hours. Berlin (22 h) have nightly connections the madison hotel washington dc during summer while departures from Vienna (34 h) are nightly Mon-Thu. There is also a connection from Venice (45 h) via Ljubljana (41 h) once a week, departing Thursdays.
More exotic cities with infrequent departures include Astana (73 h, Thu), Baku (64 h, Wed) and Murmansk (61 h, seasonal). And if you are looking for a real journey, hop on train 133E linking Kiev with Vladivostok . It's one of the lo
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