Abbreviation for Kiev, Ukraine

Kiev

If you say that you plan to go on a holiday trip to Kiev, most people will be a bit flustered, and not be able to place the city any more concrete than it is in Eastern Europe somewhere. If you add that this is, in fact, the capital of Europe’s second largest country, maybe some more will understand that it is Ukraine, but still wonder how and not least why you go there. And with Chernobyl close by must it be deadly?

Now it is finally possible to fly directly from Norway to Kiev, and at very low prices. You don’t need a visa either. In 2012, Kiev was one of the host cities for European football, and a major renovation of the city made it a popular tourist destination. However, it must be said that Ukraine is reasonably politically unstable. But if you have the chance, we mean whatever you want to take the opportunity to visit one of Eastern Europe’s most fascinating metropolitan cities, with interesting history from both present and past.

For us Norwegians, Kiev will appear to be a very exotic city, with its golden loop domes and its Cyrillic alphabet. It is not necessarily easy to be a tourist here, because very few Ukrainians speak English, but they are usually very willing to try to help you anyway. If you are willing to take on the challenge, you will undoubtedly have a memorable stay in one of Eastern Europe’s oldest cities.

Get to know Kiev

Kiev is the capital of Ukraine, Europe’s largest country after Russia, and is one of Eastern Europe’s oldest cities, rich in history and culture. Archaeological excavations show that the area has been inhabited for over 17,000 years, but according to legend, Kiev was founded in the year 482 by a group of siblings of three brothers and one sister. Kiev was named after elder brother Kiy, and the statues of these four include see in a stylish fountain on the main square in the center of Kiev.

City Profile

• Abbreviation: IEV
• Country: Ukraine

The history of Kiev

Kiev experienced a dramatic upswing around the year 880, when Vikings from Scandinavia, called intoxication, sailed down the city’s lifeblood, the Dnieper River. Kiev soon became the capital of the first Slavic state, Kyivan Rus, which over the next few centuries became one of Europe’s largest and most powerful states. At its greatest, it extended from present-day Estonia to the Black Sea, covering the area between the rivers Volga in the east and Danube in the west.

The kingdom began to falter when the Mongols swept across Eastern Europe around the year 1240, leaving Kiev in ruins. Kyivan Rus was eventually swallowed by the Polish-Lithuanian nation in 1362. In the centuries that followed nationalism, the Cossacks fought for Ukrainian independence, but instead became part of the Russian empire in the 1600s, subject to the Soviet Union after a few years of independence. in 1920.

Under the Communist regime, the Ukrainians were exposed to a famine disaster in 1932-33 staged by Stalin, where over 8 million people starved to death. And during World War II, they ended up again between the bark and the wood, when the Nazis and Communists in turn wiped out over 7 million Ukrainians. In April 1986, the worst nuclear accident of all time occurred in Chernobyl, which lies about 10 miles northwest of Kiev.

In 1990, the Ukrainians finally got their own nation after the fall of communism, and six years later their own currency and constitution were introduced. Many will remember the peaceful Orange Revolution in Kiev in 2004 that led to the inauguration of President Victor Yushchenko, who was also dioxin poisoned and disfigured in his face during the election campaign.

Kiev’s heart is the main square of Maydan Nezalezhnosti

Although in this article we use the name Kiev, this is really about to be replaced with the Ukrainian way of writing Kyiv. The Kiev way of writing is the Russian name, and now that Ukraine is a separate nation, they naturally want the Ukrainian variant to be used.

Maydan and Khreshchatyk

Kiev’s historic main artery is the river Dnieper, which divides the city into two. As a tourist you will probably spend all your time in the western half, where the center and almost all the sights are located. The downtown areas are relatively hilly and are located about 150 meters above the river. If the Dnieper is the main artery of Kiev, then the heart is the big square Maydan Nezalezhnosti. This is the place where the big events and demonstrations take place, and the square is the foremost meeting point for the city’s inhabitants. Here are magnificent monuments and fountains and statues.

Kiev’s main street is the one-and-a-half kilometer long Khreshchatyk vul, which is transformed into pedestrian streets on weekends. It extends from Besarabska pl square in the southwest, over Maydan Nezalezhnosti and to Yevropeiska pl in the northeast. Here you will find plenty of restaurants, shops, shopping centers and not least massive Stalinist architecture. Most of the buildings in the street were blown up by Soviet forces when the Nazis moved in during World War II, and rebuilt in the years that followed. In spite of this, it is nowadays so nice to stroll between the chestnut trees in this slightly arched parade street.

On the square Besarabska pl is the city market hall where you can buy fresh produce, from vegetables and flowers to Russian caviar and fish. Here also stands Kiev’s only remaining Lenin statue. Behind the statue, the Tarasa Shevchenka boulevard, named after Ukraine’s national author, extends west, past the botanical gardens and the university in the direction of the train station.

Just north of Maydan Nezalezhnosti, two of Kiev’s cathedrals are a few hundred meters apart. The nearly 1,000-year-old St. Sophia Cathedral and the far-right St. Michael’s Cathedral with its very golden golden domes are both landmarks in the city. Behind St. Michael’s Cathedral you can take the 100-year-old cable car down to the Podil district, which is Kiev’s oldest district. Today it has become the restaurant district, and here you will also find the Chernobyl Museum.

When you stand at one of the many vantage points in the city center and look east towards the Dnieper, you are sure to be amazed at how many huge parks and green spaces exist in central Kiev. Countless memorials, monuments and the home ground of the Dynamo Kiev football team are located between the city center and the Dnieper. The western banks of the river are mostly still broadly covered by forests with the exception of one of the main roads, and the large islands of the river are favorite excursion areas for the capital’s inhabitants.

Hydropark and Lavra

Especially the island of Hydropark is a meeting point on summer days, with ball games, bungy jumping, cafes and beach areas, including its own beaches for nudists, gays or families with children. Here is also Sun City, a swimming park with pools, jet ski rental and private beach. In the evening, Hydropark becomes one of Kiev’s premier nightlife areas, where you have plenty of bars and clubs to choose from. More information about Hydropark.

Cathedral inside Lavra

From Hydropark you also have the city’s best views of Kiev’s main attraction for tourists and pilgrims, namely Lavra, located a few kilometers southeast of the city center. This is actually an ancient monastery area, which is almost as sacred in the Orthodox Church as the Vatican is to the Catholic Church. The real name is Kyivo-Perchers’ka Lavra, which can be freely translated with Kiev’s Cave Monastery. The original monks of the 11th and 11th centuries were buried in the cave mazes beneath the churches, and here they are still, mummified in a natural way by the cool and dry climate of the caves.

The monks are behind glass, partially covered in clothing, and it is a powerful experience to walk around these claustrophobically narrow hallways with only a candle, while pilgrims in almost religious ecstasy throw themselves to their knees and kiss the glass that sets them apart from the saints. Women have to cover their hair here, and shorts or singlets are obviously excluded for both genders. If you can visit Lavra outside of the weekends, by all means do it, unless you like to queue.

Kiev Facts

Kiev – the capital of Ukraine and largest city.

List of Kiev Acronyms

The most commonly used abbreviations about Kiev is IEV which stands for Kiev. In the following table, you can see all acronyms related to Kiev, including abbreviations for airport, city, school, port, government, and etc.