Places of interest in kyiv

Ukraine has a long history and rich culture. That is why there are many places of interest there.

It is natural that the capital of the country, Kyiv, has the greatest number of them. It is one of the oldest cities in Europe. From time immemorial Kyiv has been the centre of Slavonic culture.

There are many ancient cathedrals and churches, museums and monuments, beautiful streets and squares in it. The main street of Kyiv is certainly Khreshchatyk. If you have never been to Kyiv you should start your sightseeing there. The street is only one kilometre long but very impressive. Kyiv is famous for its Kyivo-Pecherska Lavra. More than 80 buildings were constructed on its territory during 900 years of the monastery’s existence.

Tourists always go to have a look at the monument to Bohdan Khmelnytsky, the outstanding Ukrainian statesman and military leader. There are many other places of interest in Kyiv.

One of them is the State Historical Museum of Ukraine. There are more than 50,000 exhibits on display. The exposition tells us about the history of Ukraine and its culture from antiquity to the present days. The Golden Gates, the Andreyevskaya Church, the monuments to Prince Volodymyr and Taras Shevchenko are worth seeing. Kyiv Shevchenko Opera and Ballet House, Kyiv Ivan Franko Drama Theatre are well-known all over the country. Any place is interesting in its own way and visiting it we come to know and love this country more.

The environmental situation

The high level of industrial and agricultural concentration and ecologically unjustified economic activities of the managerial structures of the former USSR are responsible for a rather complicated ecological situation that has taken shape in Ukraine. The most unfavourable is the Donetsk-Trans-Dnipro region where a lot ofmining, metallurgical and chemical enterprises are operating.

As a result of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant disaster of 1986, the environmental situation has become much worse. Apropos of this Ukraine appealed to the UNO requesting help to overcome the disasteraftermath.

The Environmental Protection Law well in compliance with international standards in this field has been in force since 1991. Environmental safeguards of conservation bodies have become morestringent. Ecological monitoring has covered Ukraine's whole area

and the Extraordinary Governmental Commission on the Problems of the Dnipro and Upgrading the Quality of Drinking Water has been set up. Ukraine has actively joined international cooperation in the field of environmental protection. Agreements have been signed with conservation bodies of the USA, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Germany and Latvia. The Ukrainian delegation took part in the UNO Conference on the Problems of Environment in Rio de Janeiro.

Ukraine enters a new phase of its history with intentions to create a democratically minded, law-based, independent society. Ukraine is looking for its place in European House, in the civilized world going to its aimunswervingly.