Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, is one of the most ancient cities of Europe. It is situated on the picturesque  banks of the Dnieper river and occupies an area of about 800 square kilometres. Now Kiev is more than 1500 years old. Its population is nearly 2.5 million people. Administratively Kiev is divided into 17 districts. According to the legend Kiev was founded by three brothers: Kiy, Shchek and Khoriv and their sister Libid. Kiev was called the capital of Kiev Rus in the 5-6 centuries. It is indeed a wonderful city with its magnificent architectural ensembles, unique historical and cultural monuments, museums and bridges.

Nowadays Kiev is a large political, industrial, scientific and cultural centre. It is also the seat of the Ukrainian Government, which is called the Supreme Rada of Ukraine. One half of the city’s territory is occupied by parks and gardens. Kiev is considered to be one of the most green cities of Europe. It has 66 parks, 39 boulevards, 180 gardens. There are a lot of chestnut trees and flowers in the capital. The city’s emblem is a chestnut leaf.

Kiev is the centre of education and science. Many research institutes and higher educational establishments, among which the Shevchenko University and the Academy of Sciences are to be found there.

Thanks to its remarkable architecture Kiev has many places of interest. It is impossible to imagine Kiev without famous Kievo-Pechersk Lavra, the wonderful St. Sophia’s Cathedral, the Golden Gate, unique St. "Sndrew’s Church. The capital is the centre of Slavonic culture.

Kiev is also famous for its theatres such as the Shevchenko Opera and Ballet Theatre, the Ivan Franko Ukrainian Drama Theatre, the Lesya Ukrainka Russian Drama Theatre. The theatres of the capital are leading centres of the Ukrainian stage. At the same time our capital is the centre of film business; the film studio named after Dovzhenko is well-known.

The Ukrainian capital is itself a huge monument, which over a long period of time has been erected by the efforts of many generations.

There are many remarkable monuments in the city, such as the monument to Taras Shevchenko, Bogdan Khmelnitskiy, Prince Vladimir, Nikolai Chtchors and others. Kiev has 10 museums.

The beautiful museums of Kiev like the State Historical Museum, the Museum of Ukrainian and Russian Arts are visited by the guests of the capital.

Kiev stands on the Dnieper, so it has a lot of bridges. The most unusual of them is the Paton bridge named after the outstanding Ukrainian scientist.

At present Kiev is a leading industrial centre of Ukraine. The capital is known for its output of planes, river boats, cameras, excavators, motorcycles, microscopes and complicated electric measuring equipment.

For the heroism, displayed by the people of Kiev in the struggle against fascists, Kiev was awarded the title of Hero City. In the park of Immortal Glory there are graves of the capital’s defenders.

Every year a great number of different sport competitions are held in one of the best stadiums of the country "Dinamo”. In 1980 Kiev was chosen for some events in the Olympic Games.

Kiev is also a great transport centre. The city transport system is modernized, underground lines of the Kiev Metro connect distant districts with the centre of the city. Buses, trolley-buses, trams and taxi carry thousands of passengers a day. Kiev has a river port, two airports and some railwaystations.

Now Kiev establishes direct contacts with many cities of Europe. It is a twin city of Cracov (Poland), Leipzig (Germany), Tampere (Finland), Kyoto (Japan), Florence (Italy), Toulouse (France). The central street of the capital Kreshchatic is one of the finest streets of the city. The street is only one kilometre long and one can see administrative buildings, large cinemas, restaurants, shops and cafes.