Ukraine » Kiev

Today, Kiev is a modern city with over 2.5 million inhabitants. Like many other large cities of the former Soviet Union, it is a mix of the old and the new, seen in everything from the buildings to the stores to the people themselves. Experiencing a fast growth rate during the 1970s, 80s and the early to mid-90s, Kiev has continued its consistent growth after 5 years of restructuring.

Kiev, also written as Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. As of 2005, Kiev officially had 2,660,401 inhabitants, although the large number of unregistered migrants would probably raise this figure to about three million. Administratively, Kiev is a national-level subordinated municipality, independent from surrounding Kiev Oblast. Kiev is an important industrial, scientific, educational and cultural center of Eastern Europe. It is home to many high-tech industries, higher education institutions and world-famous historical landmarks. The city has an extensive infrastructure and highly developed system of public transport, including a Kiev Metro system.

The centre of Kiev has been cleaned up and buildings have been restored and redecorated, especially Khreschatyk and Independence Square. Many of the historical places of Kiev, such as Andryivskyi Uzviz, have become popular street vendor locations, where one can buy traditional Ukrainian art, religious items, books, game sets (most commonly chess) as well as jewellery.

With the partial collapse of the Kiev transit services, private investors have seen room for profit. While the publicly owned and operated Kiev Metro system remains the fastest, the most convenient and affordable network that covers most, but not all, of the city, the marshrutkas (private microbuses) have become the next most popular method of transportation, with the public transit buses, trolleybuses (electrically diven) and trams being gradually phased out. Marshrutkas provide a good coverage of the smaller residential streets and have routes that are convenient for the residents although on the busiest routes the buses get increasingly larger.

Being more expensive, they are also faster, cleaner and more available, although with an increased frequency of accidents the safety became a concern that has yet to be addressed. It is also quite common for any local with a car to act as a taxi driver now and then, although organized private taxi companies have increased competition dramatically. The Kiev Metro is also expanding to cover the growing demand.