Off to Kyiv, Ukraine

Where is Ukraine?

Ukrainian flag

 This will be my 11th trip to Kyiv, Ukraine.  I love the city, its rich history and culture.  I am collaborating with the National Ukrainian Medical Laboratory Auditing Team to evaluate the implementation process of Quality Management Systems into a cohort of selected laboratories.  The country and the people are wonderful and very friendly.  I will post on a daily basis and share my experiences (along with pictures).

   
Facts about Ukraine:

Ukraine is a large country in Eastern Europe known for its Orthodox churches, Black Sea coastline and forested mountains. Its capital, Kiev, features the gold-domed St. Sophia's Cathedral, with 11th-century mosaics and frescoes. Overlooking the Dnieper River is the Kiev Pechersk Lavra monastery complex, a Christian pilgrimage site housing Scythian tomb relics and catacombs containing mummified Orthodox monks.

President: Petro Poroshenko Trending

Capital: Kiev

Currency: Ukrainian hryvnia

Population: 44.83 million (2017) World Bank

Official Language: Ukrainian

• The name Ukraine is believed to originally mean "borderland" or "region". In English 'The Ukraine' used to be the form used now it is just called 'Ukraine'.

• Ukraine has an area of 603,628 km² (233,062 mi²), which makes it the largest country with its entirety within Europe.

• Ukraine shares land borders with 7 countries, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Slovakia,Hungary, Romania and Moldova.

• The capital city of Ukraine is Kyiv, which is home to over 2.8 million people.

• Ukraine became an independent country on the 24th August 1991 following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

• As of 2011, Ukraine was the world's third-largest grain exporter and used to be called the breadbasket of the Soviet Union. The country also has large deposits of natural resources including iron, coal, gas, oil, manganese and other metals.

• The world's worst nuclear power plant accident, the 1986 Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant disaster, took place in the now abandoned Ukrainian town of Pripyat.