Ukraine

Ukraine is one of the largest countries of Eastern Europe. Ukraine occupies an area of 603 700 km2. Its territory stretches for 893 kilometers from north to south and for 1316 kilometers from east to west. It has state borders with Russia, Belarus and Moldova. It also borders on Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. In the south it is washed by the Black and the Azov Seas.

The major part of Ukraine is flat and only 5% of it is mountainous. The two mountainous areas in Ukraine are the Carpathians and the Crimean Mountains. The geographical position of Ukraine is very favorable because the country lies on the crossroads of the ways from Asia to Europe. Ukraine has deposits of iron, manganese, coal, natural gas, oil and other mineral resources. The main branches of industry are: coal and ore mining, iron and steel engineering, machine and ship building. Besides, Ukraine has always been an agrarian country.

Traditionally crop- growing and cattle-breeding are being developed.

Ukraine

Ukraine is a rich farming, industrial and mining region in south-eastern Europe. It is an independent democratic state. Its population is about 52 million people. The capital of Ukraine is Kiev. Ukraine have its own armed forces, and maintains its own diplomatic relations with foreign countries. Ukraine covers about 603,000 sq. km being larger than any country in Western Europe. From east to west Ukraine stretches for more than 1300 km and from north to south for almost 900 km. It borders with Belarus and Russia on the north and on the east. In the south it is bordered by the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Western Ukraine shares borders with Moldova, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland.

Ukraine is in an ideal geographical position for the development of its resources, lying between 440 and 520 latitude north, on the same latitude as the USA, and Britain. The climate is mild and warm, with a long summer and a short winter. Together with its fertile black soil, this makes it perfect for the development of intensive agriculture.

The main part of Ukraine is located in the watershed of the Dnieper-River, which divides Ukraine into two parts: Right-Bank and Left-Bank Ukraine. Ukraine's proximity to the Black Sea and the presence of large navigable rivers running through its territory has promoted the development of trade and culture. The Black Sea is not only a means of communication with Transcaucasia and Turkey but also with the rest of the world through the Mediterranean Sea.

Ukraine also lies on the Danube, and this gives it access to European countries. Through the Siversky Donets it has access to the Don. The territory of Ukraine is criss-crossed by railroads and highways, oil and gas pipelines and high-voltage transmission lines - all of which ensure close economic ties with Eastern and Western Europe. Ukraine is a highly industrialised country, whose economic potential is great.

Our House and Flat

I live in a new nine-storeyed block of flats in Pushkin Street.

In front of the house there is

a children’s playground and a small

garden.

We like to spend our time there.

Our flat is on the fourth floor.

It is very comfortable.

We have all modern conveniences, such as central heating, electricity, gas, cold and hot running water and a telephone.

There are three rooms in our flat: a living- room and two bedrooms.

Our living-room is the largest in the flat.

It is nicely furnished.

Opposite the wall you can see a nice cupboard.

There is a colour TV-set in the corner.

In another corner there is a sofa and two armchairs.

The piano is on the right.

There are two pictures above the piano.

There is a bookcase next to it.

We are fond of books and have plenty of them at home.

On the floor we have a nice thick carpet.

The curtains on the window match the wallpaper.

All this makes the room cosy.

Our bedrooms are also very nice and cosy.

The parents’ bedroom is larger than the children’s.

There are two beds, a bedside table, some chairs and a wardrobe in it.

There is a lovely carpet on the floor between the beds.

The children’s bedroom is just across the corridor on the right.

Here you can see two sofa-beds where my sister and I sleep at night and have a rest in the day-time.

There is also a writing-table, two chairs and some bookshelves here.

We use our bedroom as a study where we do our homework.

In the corner of the room there is a small table with a tape-recorder on it.

We all enjoy listening to the music.

Our kitchen is rather large.

There is a gas-stove, a refrigerator and a cupboard in which we keep cups, plates and all our dishes.

The kitchen serves us as a dining-room.

But when we receive guests or have our family celebrations we have the meals in the living-room.

We are happy to have such a nice flat and try to keep it clean.

HOLIDAYS IN UKRAINE

Each country has its own customs, traditions, holidays, and important days in its history. Talking of holidays in Ukraine we can't but tell about everybody's favourite New Year Holiday. People think that at night on New Year's eve the old year with all its troubles leaves us forever and the new year with all our hopes andexpectations knocks at our doors. People decorate the Christmas tree, have New Year parties and prepare presents for their relatives and friends.

On the eve of January the 7th Ukrainians start celebrating Christmas. It's the day of Jesus Christ's birthday and it is widely celebrated all over Ukraine. People sing carols, cook a traditional Ukrainian Christmas dish named "kutya" which all the family eats together. Then people go to church to listen to the Christmassermon.

Not long ago Ukrainians began to celebrate a new holiday, St. Valentine's Day. It's the day of lovers, when we give special cards and presents to our sweethearts. This traditional holiday came into Ukraine from the English-speaking countries.

March the 8th is Women's Day. This date was introduced in 1910 by the 2nd International Conference of women-socialists at the proposal of Clara Tsetkin as a day of the international solidarity of women in their struggle for economic, political, and social equality. Nowadays this date has lost its political meaning and became just the day when we congratulate and thank our women for everything they do for us at home and at work, say our good wishes, give them flowers and presents.

Easter Day comes according to the lunar calendar. It's the Day of Jesus Christ's Resurrection. People celebrate this Holiday because He died on the cross for our salvation. They go to churches to listen to sermons, gather at homes to pray and thank Jesus Christ for our salvation from eternal death into eternal life with Him in Heaven.

On May the 1st we celebrate the holiday of spring, nature awakening and beauty.

On May the 9th we celebrate the anniversary of Victory over Nazi Germany. People go to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier who died at war defending our country from fascists, put flowers to the monuments, and in the evening everybody goes to see the holiday salute.

On August the 24th we celebrate the Day of Independence of Ukraine, which was proclaimed in 1991 on the decision of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine after the attempt of the military coup d'etat in Moscow.

We also like our holidays because we always have our family reunion on these days.