About Ukraine Ukraine - is a country of Central-East Europe. It occupies the territory of Southern West part of East-European Plain, part of the Carpathians and the Crimea Mountains. The territory from North to South is 893 km, from West to East - 1316 km. Ukraine lies within moderate latitudes and has ports on the Black sea and the Azov sea. Geoposition between Eastern and Western peoples and cultures made a great impact on the history and now-a-day development of Ukraine. Ukraine has inland and marine borders of 7590 km. The inland border passes for 5631 km and consists of 3 areas: Western, Eastern and Northern. The length of marine border is 1959 km. Ukraine borders on Russian Federation (inland border of 2063 km), Republic of Belarus (975 km), Republic of Poland (542,5 km), Republic of Slovakia (98 km), Hungary (135 km), Romania (608 km) and Republic of Moldova (1194 km). Nature and Climate of Ukraine The Ukrainian relief is almost plain. Plains occupy 95% of inland territory. Mountains - 5%. Three zones -mixed forests, forest-steppe and steppe, present the plain landscapes. Two climate zones - moderate latitudes and sub-tropical on Southern coast of Crimea - present climate of Ukraine. Mountainous regions have special climate conditions because of vertical ruggedness, different steepness of slopes, local atmosphere circulations etc. In general, Ukraine belongs to countries with moderate climate of four seasons within a year. Climate conditions influence on economy, tourism development, allow to use the energy of the wind and the Sun. Territory The territory of Ukraine is equal to 603,7 th sq km or 5,7% of European territory and 0,44% of the World. Ukraine is bigger then France (544 th sq km), Spain (505 th sq km), Sweden (450 th sq km), Germany (356,3 th sq km), Poland (312,7 th sq km). Thanks to beneficial geoposition, wide net of air transport, railroads, marine and auto transport, Ukraine is to be a transit country for passengers and cargos of different countries. Administrative structure Ukraine consists of the Crimean Autonomous Republic and 24 regions (oblast): Vinnytsya region, Volyn region, Dnipropetrovs'k region, Donets'k region, Zhytomyr region, Zakarpattya region, Zaporizhya region, Ivano-Frankivs'k region, Kyiv region, Kirovohrad region, Luhans'k region, Lviv region, Mykolayiv region, Odesa region, Poltava region, Rivne region, Sumy region, Ternopil region, Kharkiv region, Kherson region, Khmelnytsky region, Cherkasy region, Chernihiv region, Chernivtsi region. Kyiv and Sevastopol are the cities of special status, stated by laws of Ukraine. There are 490 districts, 446 cities, 907 towns and 10196 villages. Territorial structure is based on the principles of indivisibility and unity of the country, the unity of centralization and decentralization of power, balance of social-economic development of regions, according to their historical, economic, geographical and demography peculiarities, ethnical and culture traditions. Population The population of Ukraine is 49,5 mln people. Ukraine is the 5th in Europe (after Germany, Italy, Great Britain, France) and the 21st in the World. Ukrainian population sets 7,3% of population of Europe and 1% of the World population. 68% of Ukrainians live in cities and 32% - in rural areas. The average density of population of Ukraine is 85 people per square kilometer. As per this indicator, Ukraine yields to many European countries. The density is not similar all over Ukraine. The most habitable is Donet's region - 196 people per sq km. The less one - Chernihiv region - people per sq km Economy Ukraine is a country with developed scientific and productive basis. Ukrainian industrial potential includes machine production, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, bus production, light and cargo vehicles production, tractors and other agrarian techniques production, production of diesel locomotives, lathes, equipment for Electric Power Plants, turbines, aviation engines and aircrafts, equipment for oil refinery and chemistry plants. Ukraine is a powerful energy producer.		Power Institutions of Ukraine The President of Ukraine The Constitution of Ukraine stipulates that President is the head of the State. He is a guarantee of State sovereign, its territorial unity, the leadership of Constitution, rights and freedoms of peoples and a citizen. Ukrainian citizens elect the President for 5 years on equity of the vote right. The resident must be a citizen of Ukraine, must have lived in Ukraine for not less then 10 years before the elections, has a right to vote and speaks State language. The President can not be elected for 2 terms without a break. Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine The only Legislative Body of Ukraine is Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine - Ukrainian Parliament. People of Ukraine on equity of the vote elect people's deputies right in mixed system (majority - proportion one). 450 People's Deputies are elected. 225 of them are elected on one-mandate districts, 225 - those who are elected by parties lists in multi-mandate whole-Ukraine district on equity of proportional representation. Ukrainian Constitution and laws set the rights of People's Deputies. PDs may unite into factions and groups on a condition that every group and faction consists of not less then 25 members. PDs' groups may not form only on principles of parties' membership. All the groups unite PDs of similar views and thoughts on state and social-economic development of the country. The Government of Ukraine The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (Ukrainian Government) is the High Body of Executive Power of Ukraine. It acts according to the Constitution , laws of Ukraine, President's Decrees. The Government is amenable to the President of Ukraine, controlled by Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. The Presidents appoints and resigns the Prime Minister on the agreement of Verkhovna Rada. The President appoints and resigns ministers on a proffer of the Prime Minister. The Parliament adopts the budget, elaborated and presented by the Government, adopts resolution about budget realization, adopts or rejects the Program of the Government Activity, controls its work. Judiciary Constitutional Court and courts of general jurisdiction. The Supreme Court is the highest judiciary body. Courts are the only bodies to provide justice in Ukraine. The system of courts is based on the territorial and specification principles. The Constitutional Court of Ukraine is separate and independent from courts of general jurisdiction. It cannot be a court of Appeal, Cassation and Observation. The activity of the Constitutional Court provides constitutional control in all the spheres.		Tourism in Ukraine Ukraine attracts more than 15 million tourists every year (17.6 million in 2005), primarily from Eastern Europe, but also from Western Europe and USA. It has long been a tourist destination for many people dating back to the middle of the 19th century. Ukraine is a destination on the crossroads between central and eastern Europe, between north and south. It borders Russia and is not far from Turkey. It has mountain ranges - the Carpathian Mountains suitable for skiing, hiking, fishing and hunting. The coastline on the Black Sea is a popular summer destination for vacationers. Ukraine has vineyards where they produce native wines, ruins of ancient castles, historical parks, Orthodox and Catholic churches as well as a few mosques and synagogues. Kiev, the country's capital city has many unique structures such as Saint Sophia Cathedral and broad boulevards. There are other cities well-known to tourists such as the harbour town Odessa and the old city of Lviv in the west. The Crimea, a little "continent" of its own, is a popular vacation destination for tourists for swimming or suntaning on the Black Sea with its warm climate, rugged mountains, plateaus and ancient ruins. Cities there include: Sevastopol and Yalta - location of the peace conference at the end of World War II. Visitors can also take cruise tours by ship on Dnieper River from Kiev to the Black Sea coastline. Ukrainian cuisine has a long history and offers a wide variety of original dishes. Since 2005 citizens of the USA, European Union, Canada, Switzerland, Russia, other former CIS countries no longer require a visa to visit Ukraine for tourism purposes. Cities " Kiev - The historical capital of Kievan Rus' and modern Ukraine on the river Dnieper. Ancient churches, broad boulevards, beautiful landscapes and a variety of cultural facilities make it fascinating destination. " Lviv - old city in the west of country, with its medieval old town and unique architecture with Polish and German influences. " Odessa - a harbor town on the Black Sea with a mixture of different cultures, including Jewish, Armenian and Greek. " Yalta - a health resort on Black Sea, where the peace conference took place. " Sevastopol - a port city on the Black Sea coast of Crimean peninsula. " Simferopol - the capital of Automomous Republic of Crimea, on the Salhir River. It is a manufacturing, commercial, and transportation center located in a productive agricultural region. Products include canned fruit, flour, machine tools, and electric equipment. The site of Simferopol' was occupied by the Scythian settlement of Neapol from about the 3rd century BC to the 4th century AD. The modern city of Simferopol was founded in 1784, when Russia was in control of the Crimean Peninsula. It was built near the Tatar town of Ak-Mechet. Population (1998 estimate) 341,000. Landscapes " Chernihiv - medieval city. " Crimea - tropical climate, famous bathing resorts and mountain landscapes. " Carpathian Mountains - impressive mountain landscapes with skiing and hiking possibilities, spas with cold and hot springs. " Azov coast - bathing resorts. " Dnieper - cruises. " Sofiyivsky Park, located in Uman, Ukraine.