Ukraine

by Andrew Evans, Massimiliano Di Pasquale

Overview

Ukraine is the largest country in Europe. Evolving rapidly, the country offers visitors an unrivalled combination of old and new. Updated throughout, Ukraine highlights towns and villages well off the beaten track, and goes into greater depth than its competitors, with more detail on the history, culture and sights, and more entertaining reviews of hotels and restaurants. The practical information highlights how to get there by bus, rail and boat. The culture section features new writers of independent Ukraine and the history section has been updated to cover all the events that followed Yanukovych's election in 2010.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781841624501
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	09/17/2013
Edition description:	Fourth Edition
Pages:	448
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Andrew Evans first arrived in the Ukraine in 1994, and worked there for two years. His love for such a rapidly changing country kept him returning wearing many different hats – as a NATO analyst, a graduate student, political consultant, and finally as the author of Ukraine. Andrew now works as a freelance travel writer. He is also a regularly featured speaker on travel destinations at the Smithsonian Institution and has appeared on the Travel Channel. He is also the author of Iceland for which he won the 2008 Lowell Thomas Award. Massimiliano Di Pasquale first travelled to the Ukraine in 2004 and has been back to explore the country many times since. Photographer, writer and journalist, Massimiliano writes regularly about Ukrainian culture and politics for many Italian magazines and newspapers. In 2007 he interviewed President Viktor Yushchenko for Italian geopolitical magazine east. In 2010 he published the photographic book In Ucraina. Immagini per un diario (In the Ukraine. Pictures for a diary), and in May 2012 the travel book Ucraina terra di confine. Viaggi nell'Europa sconosciuta (Ukraine Borderland. Trips in unknown Europe). He has been a member of AISU (Italian Society of Ukrainian Studies) since 2008.

Table of Contents

Introduction     VII
General Information     1
The Country     3
Geography     3
Climate     4
Population     4
Administration     4
Government     5
International relations     6
Economy     7
Conservation and natural history     10
History     13
Ancient history     13
Early civilisations     14
Kievan Rus     16
The Golden Horde     18
Lithuania and Poland     18
The Cossacks     19
Little Russia and the Russian Empire     21
The revolution in Ukraine     25
Civil war     26
Soviet Ukraine     28
Perestroika     31
Early independence     32
The Orange Revolution     33
The Ukrainians     35
People     35
Language     35
Culture     37
Beliefs and religion     41
Holidays     46
Face to face with Ukrainian culture     47
Preparations     51
When to visit     51
Highlights and itineraries     51
Public holidays     53
Tour operators     53
Red tape     55
Getting there and away     57
Health     62
Crime and safety     67
What to take     71
Electricity     73
Toilets     74
Money and budgeting     74
Travelling in Ukraine     77
Travel culture in Ukraine     77
Getting around     79
Accommodation     86
Eating and drinking     91
The banya     95
Arts and entertainment     96
Shopping     98
Media and communications     100
Business     102
Travelling with children in Ukraine     102
The Guide     105
Kiev     107
History     110
Getting there and away     112
Getting around     116
Local tour operators     119
Where to stay     120
Where to eat     126
Entertainment and nightlife     133
Shopping     137
Other practicalities      138
What to see and do     142
Churches and holy sites     147
Museums     155
Parks     157
Outside Kiev     158
Polissya     159
Getting around     159
Chernihiv     159
Chernobyl     163
Zhytomyr     166
Berdychiv     167
Podillya     171
Getting around     172
Vinnytsya     172
Uman     177
Kamyanets-Podilsky     179
Khmelnytsky     185
Galicia & Volhynia     189
History     191
Getting around     191
Lviv     192
Drohobych     212
Truskavets     212
Ternopil     213
Pochayiv     216
Volhynia     217
Lutsk     218
Rivne     221
The Carpathians     225
The mountains     226
Flora and fauna     226
Practicalities     228
Ivano-Frankivsk     229
Yaremche     234
Carpathian National Nature Park     238
Tatariv      238
Vorokhta     239
Bukovel     239
The Chornohora range     240
Yasinya     244
Rakhiv     245
The Carpathian Biosphere Reserve     246
Verkhovyna     246
Kosiv     248
Sheshory     248
Kolomiya     248
The Gorgany range     250
Bukovina     252
Transcarpathia     260
The Black Sea     269
Getting around     269
Odessa     269
Bilhorod-Dnistrovsky     289
The Dnistr and Danube delta     290
Mykolayiv     291
Kherson     292
Crimea     299
History     299
The Autonomous Republic of Crimea     302
Simferopol     303
Yevpatoria     311
Bakhchisarai     313
Sevastopol     319
Balaclava     328
Cape Aiya     330
The south coast     331
Yalta     331
Yalta to Foros     342
Yalta to Alushta     345
Alushta     347
Demerdzhi      349
Feodosiya     349
Kerch     355
The Dnepr     359
Getting around     359
Cherkassy     360
Kaniv     361
Kremenchuk     361
Kirovohrad     362
Dnepropetrovsk     365
Zaporizhzhya     372
Donbas     381
History     381
Getting around     382
Donetsk     382
Slavyanogorsk     391
Mariupol     391
Luhansk     392
Sloboda     395
Getting around     395
Kharkiv     395
Poltava     413
Mirgorod     416
Sumy     417
Language     420
Further Information     427
Index     432

Editorial Reviews

'The small publisher whose engaging, well-written and highly detailed guides to exotic places continue to set a benchmark for quality." – Wanderlust 'A comprehensive guide to the country.' – TNT Magazine

From the Publisher