KYIV, Ukraine — Shining with Orthodox golden domes that rise from forested hilltops, crisscrossed by narrow cobblestone streets and speckled by quiet, leafy parks, Kyiv draws visitors with an Eastern European charm.
And for those who seek the exotic artifacts of the Soviet era – Lenin statues, imposing bronze monuments and colonnaded subway stations – Kyiv has those too.
Founded over 1,500 years ago, Kyiv is one of the oldest and historically richest cities in Eastern Europe. The site of the ancient Kyivan Rus state, forerunner of the Russian empire, it is considered the birthplace of Slavic civilization. The city endured the Mongol-Tatar invasion, was an important provincial capital in the Tsarist and Soviet eras and in 1991 finally became the capital of an independent Ukraine.
Today, Kyiv strives to be a proper European city, at the same time preserving its unique Slavic appeal. Cut in two by the broad Dnieper river, the city is a mix of medieval onion-domed Orthodox cathedrals, elegant turn of the 20th century buildings and some stubbornly durable artifacts of the Soviet times, including giant statues and gloomy apartment blocks on the city’s outskirts.
Cool article from the Canadian Press!
UPDATE: It’s too bad when the Associated Press circulated the article they Rusified the capital. Even in Canada.
UPDATE #2: A very sobering reply to this article