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Welcome to Mr. Kelly’s six grade geography class. For the next two weeks we will be learning about the country of Ukraine. Ukraine is a country located in the southeastern part of Central Europe. It has its own territory, government, national emblem, flag and anthem. Ukraine is located in south western CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States). It has an area of 603,700 km square and has a population more than 49 million people. It is the second largest country in Europe after Russia. Ukraine was formally a part of the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ). The USSR is now known as CIS after the collapse of the communist government in 1991. The territory of Ukraine is mostly a level treeless plain, called “steppe.” The highest point in the Ukraine is Mount Hoverla in the Carpathians with an elevation of 6,762 ft. The main Ukrainian river is the Dnieper. The Dnieper is one of the longest European rivers and one of the republic’s main source of hydroelectric power. The Dnieper flows into the Black Sea. Mixed forests of pine and fir trees, beeches, limes, oaks and elms cover the mountains. The thickest woods can be found in the northern Ukrainian southernmost pine forest. Ukraine’s climate is moderate. In winter, rivers and lakes freeze. The average winter temperature varies 20 centigrade in the north to -3 -5 in the south. The summers are hot and dry, with occasional showers and thunderstorms. The fertile black soil is well watered in spring and autumn and gets plenty of sunshine in summer. Due to climatic conditions, Ukraine is traditionally and agricultural area, growing wheat, maize, buckwheat, corn, red and green vegetables, and all kinds of fruit, melons and berries. Ukraine is one of the world’s main centers of sugar production and produces sugar both for their needs and for exports. The original vegetation of the area formed three broad belts crossing the territory of Ukraine latitudinally, with mixed forest vegetation in the northern third of the country, a forest- steppe in the middle portion, and steppe (treeless plain) in the southern third of the country. Now, the original vegetation has been replaced by cultivated crops. Ukraine is divided into 24 provinces and two municipalities, Kiev and Sevastopol, as well as the autonomous republic of Crimea. Kiev is the capital and the largest city in the Ukraine. It has a population of 2,611,000 as of 2001. Other large cities include Kharkiv with a population of 1,470,000, Dnepropetrovsk (1,065,000), Donetrsk (1,016,000), and Odessa (1,029,000). The official language if Ukraine is Ukrainian. It is one of four East Slavic languages and is closely related to Russian and Belorussian. Ukraine is spoken by around two thirds of the population. It is written using Cyrillic alphabets. Russian is widely spoken among Russian minorities. There are often languages among minority communities’ especially Polish, Eastern Yiddish, Hungarian, Belorussian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Jakati, and Greek. Ukraine generally has a high standard of education. Ukrainian is the official language of education, following the enforced Russification practiced under the Soviet rule. Russian is still used in schools in areas with Russian majority populations. In the mid 1990's there were around 21,700 primary and secondary schools. These schools were attended by around 6.8 Million pupils annually. There are state universities at Kiev, Kharkiv, Odessa, lviv, Chernitsi, Snipropetrovsk, Simferopol, and Donetsk. Ukraine’s economy is highly industrialized. More than 36 percent of the gross domestic product comes from industry. This accounts for 31 percent of the total employment. Industry is based largely on the republic’s vast mineral resources. Some of the natural resources are iron, ore, coal, color metal, oil, gas mineral salts, clay, and potential water power. Ukraine is the fourth largest steel producer in the world. Ukraine has a rich historical culture. The capital city of Kiev is the center of many developments of Russian culture. The architecture of the Orthodox Church and Ukrainian icons are notable, even though, some of the great monuments were destroyed in the Stalinist period as part of the attack of the Ukrainian national spirit. Some major monuments in Ukraine include the 11th century cathedral of St. Sophia (now a museum) and the 11th century Golden Gate in Kiev. Kiev also contains the Historical and Architectural State Museum (the Stofiysky Museum), the State Historical Museum, and the Kiev Museum of Ukrainian Art. Ukraine is also known for a strong folk culture. The earliest literature was composed in the Old Church Slavonic Language. Ukrainian itself developed independently after the 13th century, but Ukrainian writers used Russian by preference as a literary language until late 19th century when a nationalist revival took place. In April of 1986, Ukraine received international attention after a nuclear catastrophe at Chernobyl. As the country slept, a reactor at the nuclear power station exploded and caught fire during a test. An area roughly half the size of Colorado was contaminated by the accident. Hundreds of thousands of people were forced to resettle and some of Europe’s most fertile farmland was lost. Ukraine registered 4,400 deaths. Around seven million people in the former Soviet republics of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine are believed to have suffered health problems as a result of contamination. The Chernobyl plant that was regarded as Ukraine’s pride has become a symbol of the biggest ever, man-made disaster. Ukraine shut down Chernobyl’s last working reactor in December 2000, but decommissioning works continue.
