Visit Kiev, Ukraine
Grandmother of the Russian state, centre of Orthodoxy, home of the Orange Revolution, and centre of Ukranian life, Kiev is a city with many faces.
Grandmother of the Russian state, centre of Orthodoxy, home of the Orange Revolution, and centre of Ukranian life, Kiev is a city with many faces.
According to legend, the city was founded by three Slavic brothers and their sister, with the eldest, Ky, giving the city its name (Kiev is the Russian name; Kyiv is the Ukranian name). Since its foundation, the city's fortunes have waxed and waned - from a cultural and political centre to being sacked by Mongol raiders; from Tsarist boom town at the turn of the 20th century to 80% of the population being homeless after the devastation of World War Two.
Today, Kiev is indisputably the capital, with a palpable sense of energy and ambition. It is easy to spend three or four days here, taking in the sights and drinking in the buzzing atmosphere of a place that has a knowing sense of its own importance.