January 22, 2010 – 2:32 pm
The poetic and tranquil land of Zhytomyr region seems to hide from the rest of the world behind its forests and lakes. Such peacefulness promotes writing and thinking, and perhaps this is why it has inspired so many writers who gave rise to works of world significance. Two such writers are Honoré de Balzac and Joseph Conrad
The first of April 2009 is the day when the world celebrates two centuries of literature by Nikolai Gogol, author of the famous The Inspector-General, Taras Bulba, Dead Souls, and Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka. He was an ingenious yet enigmatic figure. Gogol was a constant resident of a mystical world, deprived of peace of mind. His characters – blacksmith Vakula, Cossack Taras Bulba, landowner Chichikov and petty clerk Hlestakov, have all become incarnations of human flaws and virtues, immortalising their creator.
“This is the place where history comes to life”, a phrase acquires a new meaning here, in an area of 400 hectares called the Stone Graves nature reserve. The history of this place, perched on the edge of the grassland steppe between the Donetsk and Zaporozhye regions, goes back not decades, not even centuries but millions of years
Kiev’s official recorded history begins on 482 AD. According to legend, the city was founded on the high right bank of the Dnipro River by the brothers Kyi, Schek, and Khoryv and their sister Lybid, and named Kiev in honor of the elder brother. The city became the center of the powerful Kievan Rus state which reached its golden age under Prince Volodymyr Svyatoslavovych the Great, who Christianized the Rus in 988, and his son Yaroslav the Wise (978 - 1054). Testimonials to the greatness of that era: the St. Sophia Cathedral and the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, still stand today.
Emperor of Byzantium Constantine VII Porphyrogenitos (9th century) was a cunning politician and diplomat, researcher and publicist. He left as heritage for his son not only Byzantium and the phrase “Divide and conquer”, but also several encyclopaedias and the treatise “On Governance of the Empire”. In this work, in the chapter about the road from “Varangians to the Greeks” for the first time in history Khortytsia is mentioned, the biggest island of the Dnipro River and the symbol of free Ukrainian Cossacks
Chernigiv and the surrounding oblast are worth a visit for at least three reasons. First of all, in the 12th-13th centuries, the town was the capital of a mighty principality about the size of modern-day France. Secondly, you can view musical instruments 15 thousand years old. Thirdly, you might see the mysterious Black Monk in St Anthony’s Caves, a phenomenon that Ukraine’s top scientists are unable to explain
April 14, 2008 – 10:39 am
It’s logical to begin a first-time visit to a country with a tour of the capital. Kiev offers many amazing must-see monuments, and beyond the city limits, the surrounding oblast has a great wealth of architectural, historical and natural sites that should not be overlooked
The Dnipropetrovsk region is chiefly known as the birthplace of the Ukrainian political elite and a large industrial centre. But five centuries ago this was a land of freedom where Cossacks resided and acted gloriously to protect their land from enemies. The Dnipropetrovsk region also offers curious and active tourists its Scythian mounds, river canyons and waterfalls, diving and rafting, and the “Petrykivka” centre of folk crafts as well as many other attractions
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