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109-676: The scandal started on 28   November 2000, in Kyiv , when Ukrainian politician Oleksandr Moroz publicly accused President Kuchma of involvement in the abduction of journalist Georgiy Gongadze and numerous other crimes. Moroz named Kuchma's former bodyguard , Mykola Melnychenko , as the source. He also played selected recordings of the President's secret conversations for journalists, supposedly confirming Kuchma's order to kidnap Gongadze. That and hundreds of other conversations were later published worldwide by Melnychenko. Journalists nicknamed

218-696: A frontier market into an important centre of Orthodox learning in the sixteenth century, and later of industry, commerce, and administration by the nineteenth. The city prospered again during the Russian Empire's Industrial Revolution in the late 19th century. In 1918, when the Ukrainian People's Republic declared independence from the Russian Republic after the October Revolution there, Kyiv became its capital. From

327-645: A joint statement concerning "the beginning of a state revolution in Ukraine". Though the communists stepped out of the alliance and though Symonenko opposed having one single candidate from the alliance in the 2004 presidential election, the other three parties remained allies until July 2006. On 2 July 2004, Our Ukraine and the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc established the Force of the people , a coalition which aimed to stop "the destructive process that has, as

436-500: A pretext for his action. The parliament appealed the Constitutional Court itself and promised to abide by its ruling. In the meantime, the parliament continued to meet and banned the financing of any new election pending the Constitutional Court's decision. Competing protests took place and the crisis escalated. In May 2007, Yushchenko illegally dismissed three members of Ukraine's Constitutional Court, thus preventing

545-608: A result of the incumbent authorities, become a characteristic for Ukraine", at the time Kuchma and Yanukovych were the incumbent authorities in Ukraine. The pact included a promise by Yushchenko to nominate Tymoshenko as prime minister if he won the October 2004 presidential election. Yushchenko was widely regarded as the moderate political leader of the anti-Kuchma opposition, since other opposition parties were less influential and had fewer seats in parliament. Since becoming President of Ukraine in 2005, he has been an honorary leader of

654-467: A rude and spiteful person, using profanity and speaking Surzhyk , a mixture of Russian and Ukrainian languages. Advocates argue that excessive foul language is the proof of a deliberate montage of the recordings using extrinsic audio samples . However, the United States ambassador to Ukraine , Carlos Pascual , said that the tapes are genuine, undistorted, unaltered, and not manipulated, based on

763-521: A secret political society, the Brotherhood of Saint Cyril and Methodius, whose members put forward the idea of a federation of free Slavic peoples with Ukrainians as a distinct and separate group rather than a subordinate part of the Russian nation; the Russian authorities quickly suppressed the society. Following the gradual loss of Ukraine's autonomy, Kyiv experienced growing Russification in

872-608: A serious viral infection and chemical substances that are not normally found in food products. Yushchenko claimed that he had been poisoned by government agents. After the illness, his face has shown signs of chloracne . British toxicologist Professor John Henry of St Mary's Hospital in London declared the abnormalities in Yushchenko's face were due to chloracne, which results from dioxin poisoning. Dutch toxicologist Bram Brouwer also stated his abnormalities in appearance were

981-565: A steady influx of ethnic Ukrainian migrants from other regions of the country . During the country's transformation to a market economy and electoral democracy , Kyiv has continued to be Ukraine's largest and wealthiest city. Its armament-dependent industrial output fell after the Soviet collapse, adversely affecting science and technology, but new sectors of the economy such as services and finance facilitated Kyiv's growth in salaries and investment, as well as providing continuous funding for

1090-508: A team of doctors led by Professor Jean Saurat at the University of Geneva Hospital. Analysis of Yushchenko's body fluids and tissues provided useful information on the human toxicokinetics of TCDD and its metabolites. Yushchenko himself implicated Davyd Zhvania , the godfather of one of his children, of involvement in his dioxin poisoning. In August 2009, The Lancet published a scientific paper by Swiss and Ukrainian researchers on

1199-528: Is Vitali Klitschko , who was sworn in on 5 June 2014, after he had won the 25 May 2014 Kyiv mayoral elections with almost 57% of the votes. Since 25 June 2014, Klitschko is also Head of Kyiv City Administration . Klitschko was last reelected in the 2020 Kyiv local election with 50.52% of the votes, in the first round of the election. Most key buildings of the national government are along Hrushevskoho Street ( vulytsia Mykhaila Hrushevskoho ) and Institute Street ( vulytsia Instytutska ). Hrushevskoho Street

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1308-533: Is a Ukrainian politician who was the third president of Ukraine from 23 January 2005 to 25 February 2010. He aimed to orient Ukraine towards the West, European Union and NATO . Yushchenko's first career was in the banking industry. In 1993, he became governor of the National Bank of Ukraine , presiding over their response to hyperinflation and the introduction of a national currency . From 1999 to 2001 he

1417-405: Is in the oblast council building on ploshcha Lesi Ukrainky ("Lesya Ukrainka Square"). The growing political and economic role of the city, combined with its international relations, as well as extensive internet and social network penetration , have made Kyiv the most pro-Western and pro-democracy region of Ukraine; (so called) National Democratic parties advocating tighter integration with

1526-582: Is named after the Ukrainian academician, politician, historian, and statesman Mykhailo Hrushevsky , who wrote an academic book titled: "Bar Starostvo: Historical Notes: XV–XVIII" about the history of Bar, Ukraine . That portion of the city is also unofficially known as the government quarter ( урядовий квартал ). The city state administration and council is in the Kyiv City council building on Khreshchatyk Street. The oblast state administration and council

1635-532: Is that the so-called coalition was formed on basis of political corruption, this coalition will be able to work only if the Communist Party will join it. Speaking about such a type of coalition, it is even more shameful." Yushchenko also stated that Tymoshenko's desire to keep her job as Prime Minister was the main motive for creating the coalition and that he wanted to expel the OU-PSD lawmakers who supported

1744-683: Is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine . It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River . As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2,952,301, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Kyiv is an important industrial, scientific, educational, and cultural center in Eastern Europe . It is home to many high-tech industries, higher education institutions, and historical landmarks. The city has an extensive system of public transport and infrastructure, including

1853-551: Is the traditional English name for the city, but because of its historical derivation from the Russian name, Kiev lost favor with many Western media outlets after the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2014 in conjunction with the KyivNotKiev campaign launched by Ukraine to change the way that international media were spelling the city's name. The first known humans in the region of Kyiv lived there in

1962-481: The 2010 Ukrainian presidential election , finishing in fifth place in the first round with 5.5% of the vote. Yushchenko again led Our Ukraine in the 2012 parliamentary election , but they failed to win representation. Yushchenko was born on 23 February 1954, in Khoruzhivka , Sumy Oblast , Ukrainian SSR , Soviet Union , into a family of teachers. His father, Andriy Andriyovych Yushchenko (1919–1992) fought in

2071-672: The Battle on the Irpen' River and conquered the city. The Tatars , who also claimed Kyiv, retaliated in 1324–1325, so while Kyiv was ruled by a Lithuanian prince, it had to pay tribute to the Golden Horde . Finally, as a result of the Battle of Blue Waters in 1362, Algirdas , Grand Duke of Lithuania, incorporated Kyiv and surrounding areas into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania . In 1482, Crimean Tatars sacked and burned much of Kyiv. At

2180-545: The Communist Party of Ukraine , who opposed Yushchenko's economic policies, and by centrist groups associated with the country's powerful " oligarchs ." The vote passed 263 to 187 and resulted in Yushchenko's removal from office. In 2002, Yushchenko became the leader of the Our Ukraine ( Nasha Ukrayina ) political coalition , which received a plurality of seats in the year's parliamentary election . However,

2289-649: The Community of Democratic Choice , to bring together the democracies and incipient democracies in the region around the Baltic, Black, and Caspian Seas. The first meeting of presidents and leaders to discuss the CDC took place on 1–2 December 2005 in Kyiv. According to former Security Service of Ukraine Chairman Oleksandr Turchynov , in the summer of 2005 Yushchenko prevented an investigation into allegedly fraudulent practices in

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2398-559: The FBI Electronic Research Facility 's analysis of the original recording device and the original recording. These analyses found that there were no unusual sounds which would indicate a tampering of the recording, that the recording was continuous with no breaks, and there was no manipulation of the digital files. Influenced by all of the above, president Kuchma soon became disillusioned with European integration and started to loosen Ukraine's relations with

2507-709: The Hudud al-'Alam . The texts of those authors were discovered by Russian orientalist Alexander Tumansky . The etymology of Sambat has been argued by many historians, including Grigoriy Ilyinsky , Nikolay Karamzin , Jan Potocki , Nikolay Lambin , Joachim Lelewel , and Guðbrandur Vigfússon . The Primary Chronicle states that at some point during the late 9th or early 10th century Askold and Dir, who may have been of Viking or Varangian descent, ruled in Kyiv. They were murdered by Oleg of Novgorod in 882, but some historians, such as Omeljan Pritsak and Constantine Zuckerman , dispute that, arguing that Khazar rule continued as late as

2616-540: The Kyiv Metro . The city's name is said to derive from the name of Kyi , one of its four legendary founders. During its history , Kyiv, one of the oldest cities in Eastern Europe, passed through several stages of prominence and obscurity. The city probably existed as a commercial center as early as the 5th century. A Slavic settlement on the great trade route between Scandinavia and Constantinople , Kyiv

2725-786: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit that took place on 21–22 November 2002 in Prague . Breaking the decades-lasting tradition, the list of participating countries was announced in French , not English . As a result Turkey was named after Ukraine, instead of the United Kingdom and the United States, thereby avoiding the appearance of Kuchma next to Tony Blair and George W. Bush . Moreover, widely publicized conversations depicted Kuchma as

2834-551: The Our Ukraine party. From 2001 to 2004, his rankings in popularity polls were higher than those of Kuchma. In later public opinion polls, though, his support plummeted from a high of 52% following his election in 2004 to below 4%. However, in the parliamentary elections of March 2006, the Our Ukraine party, led by Prime Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov , received less than 14% of the national vote, taking third place behind

2943-827: The Party of Regions and the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc. In a poll by the Sofia Social Research Centre between 27 July and 7 August 2007 more than 52% of those polled said they distrusted Yushchenko while 48% said they trusted him. In 2004, as Kuchma's term came to an end, Yushchenko announced his candidacy for president as an independent . His major rival was Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych . Since his term as prime minister, Yushchenko had slightly modernized his political platform, adding social partnership and other liberal slogans to older ideas of European integration , including Ukraine's joining NATO and fighting corruption . Supporters of Yushchenko were organized in

3052-720: The Polesia woodland ecological zone, a part of the European mixed woods area, and the East European forest steppe biome . However, the city's unique landscape distinguishes it from the surrounding region. Kyiv is completely surrounded by Kyiv Oblast . Originally on the west bank, today Kyiv is on both sides of the Dnieper , which flows southwards through the city towards the Black Sea . The older and higher western part of

3161-476: The Ptolemy world map there are several settlements indicated along the mid-stream of Borysthenes , among which is Azagarium, which some historians believe to be the predecessor to Kyiv. However, according to the 1773 Dictionary of Ancient Geography of Alexander Macbean , that settlement corresponds to the modern city of Chernobyl . Just south of Azagarium, there is another settlement, Amadoca, believed to be

3270-534: The Second World War , was captured by German forces and imprisoned as a POW in a series of concentration camps in the German Reich, including Auschwitz-Birkenau . His father survived the ordeal, and after returning home taught English at a local school. Viktor's mother, Varvara Tymofiyovna Yushchenko (1918–2005), taught physics and mathematics at the same school. The Sumy Oblast region where he

3379-506: The UN 2011 evaluation, there were no risks of natural disasters in Kyiv and its metropolitan area . Kyiv has a warm-summer humid continental climate ( Köppen Dfb ). The warmest months are June, July, and August, with mean temperatures of 13.8 to 24.8 °C (56.8 to 76.6 °F). The coldest are December, January, and February, with mean temperatures of −4.6 to −1.1 °C (23.7 to 30.0 °F). The highest ever temperature recorded in

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3488-551: The Ukrainian Supreme Court to repeat the vote. Yushchenko won the revote 52% to 44%. Yushchenko's influence declined soon after assuming the presidency, especially after falling out with his prime minister and leading political ally Yulia Tymoshenko , as did his and his party's popularity and electoral standing. The rest of his presidency was marked by infighting, legislative deadlock and coalition crises in 2007 and in 2008 . He lost re-election to Yanukovych in

3597-487: The destruction of Kyiv . These events had a profound effect on the future of the city and on the East Slavic civilization . Before Bogolyubsky's pillaging, Kyiv had had a reputation as one of the largest cities in the world, with a population exceeding 100,000 at the beginning of the 12th century. In the early 1320s, a Lithuanian army led by Grand Duke Gediminas defeated a Slavic army led by Stanislav of Kyiv at

3706-416: The inauguration of Yushchenko as the President of Ukraine took place. The event was attended by numerous foreign dignitaries. The first hundred days of Yushchenko's term, 23 January 2005 through 1 May 2005, were marked by numerous dismissals and appointments at all levels of the executive branch. He appointed Tymoshenko as prime minister and the appointment was ratified by parliament. Oleksandr Zinchenko

3815-479: The parliament ). Hundreds of politicians and activists taking part in the 2001 protests led the 2004 Orange Revolution . Yushchenko led the revolution after the presidential election , and became president on 23 January 2005. Mykola Melnychenko (who received U.S. political asylum ) released new portions of his recordings. In 2004, Volodymyr Tsvil , a Ukrainian businessman who assisted Melnychenko in his escape, publicly accused him of not revealing certain details of

3924-502: The "Syla Narodu" ("Power to the People") electoral coalition, which he and his political allies led, with the Our Ukraine coalition as the main constituent force. Yushchenko built his campaign on face-to-face communication with voters, since the government prevented most major TV channels from providing equal coverage to candidates. Meanwhile, his rival, Yanukovych, frequently appeared in the news and even accused Yushchenko, whose father

4033-538: The 1920s Ukrainization as well as the migration of the rural Ukrainophone population made the Russophone city Ukrainian-speaking and bolstered the development of Ukrainian cultural life in the city; the Soviet industrialization that started in the late 1920s turned the city, a former centre of commerce and religion, into a major industrial, technological and scientific centre; the 1932–1933 Great Famine devastated

4142-491: The 19th century, by means of Russian migration, administrative actions, and social modernization. At the beginning of the 20th century the Russian-speaking part of the population dominated the city centre, while the lower classes living on the outskirts retained Ukrainian folk culture to a significant extent. However, enthusiasts among ethnic Ukrainian aristocrats, soldiers, and merchants made attempts to preserve

4251-501: The 2nd to the 4th centuries suggest trade relations with the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire . Notable archaeologists of the area around Kyiv include Vikentiy Khvoyka . Scholars continue to debate when the city was founded: The traditional founding date is 482 CE, so the city celebrated its 1,500th anniversary in 1982. Archaeological data indicates a founding in the sixth or seventh centuries, with some researchers dating

4360-533: The 920s, leaving historical documents such as the Kievan Letter and Schechter Letter . Other historians suggest that Magyar tribes ruled the city between 840 and 878, before migrating with some Khazar tribes to the Carpathian Basin . The Primary Chronicle mentions Hungarians passing near Kyiv. Askold's Grave was previously known as " Uhorske urochyshche " (Hungarian place). According to

4469-535: The Canadian Ukrainian linguist Jaroslav Rudnyckyj , the name can be connected to the Proto-Slavic root *kyjь , but should be interpreted as meaning 'stick, pole' as in its modern Ukrainian equivalent Кий . The name should in that case be interpreted as 'palisaded settlement'. Kyiv is the romanized official Ukrainian name for the city, and it is used for legislative and official acts. Kiev

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4578-737: The Dnieper River forms a branching system of tributaries , isles, and harbors within the city limits. The city is close to the mouth of the Desna River and the Kyiv Reservoir in the north, and the Kaniv Reservoir in the south. Both the Dnieper and Desna rivers are navigable at Kyiv, although regulated by the reservoir shipping locks and limited by winter freeze-over. In total, there are 448 bodies of open water within

4687-607: The Empire and the major centre of commerce in its southwest. In the turbulent period following the 1917 Russian Revolution , Kyiv became the capital of several successive Ukrainian states and was caught in the middle of several conflicts: World War I , during which German soldiers occupied it from 2 March 1918 to November 1918, the Russian Civil War of 1917 to 1922, and the Polish–Soviet War of 1919–1921. During

4796-674: The European Union receive most votes during elections in Kyiv. In a poll conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology in the first half of February 2014, 5.3% of those polled in Kyiv believed "Ukraine and Russia must unite into a single state", nationwide this percentage was 12.5. The Dnieper River naturally divides Kyiv into the Right Bank and the Left Bank areas. Historically on

4905-574: The Khazars". In De Administrando Imperio , Constantine Porphyrogenitus mentions a caravan of small cargo boats which assembled annually, and writes, "They come down the river Dnieper and assemble at the strong-point of Kyiv (Kioava), also called Sambatas". At least three Arabic-speaking 10th century geographers who traveled the area mention the city of Zānbat as the chief city of the Russes. Among them are ibn Rustah, Abu Sa'id Gardezi , and an author of

5014-577: The Kyiv Chronicle in the 12th century, and they were identified as old-Russian mythological heroes. The city of Kyiv stood on the trade route between the Varangians and the Greeks . In 968 the nomadic Pechenegs attacked and then besieged the city . By 1000 CE the city had a population of 45,000. In March 1169, Grand Prince Andrey Bogolyubsky of Vladimir-Suzdal sacked Kyiv , leaving

5123-655: The Soviet period, became the Bogomolets National Medical University in 1995. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Imperial Russian Army and ecclesiastical authorities dominated city life; the Russian Orthodox Church had involvement in a significant part of Kyiv's infrastructure and commercial activity. In the late 1840s the historian, Mykola Kostomarov (Russian: Nikolai Kostomarov ), founded

5232-813: The Soviet– Turkish border. In 1976, Yushchenko began a career in banking. In 1983, he became the Deputy Director for Agricultural Credit at the Ukrainian Republican Office of the Soviet Union State Bank. From 1990 to 1993, he worked as vice-chairman and first vice-chairman of the JSC Agroindustrial Bank Ukraina . In 1993, he was appointed Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine (Ukraine's central bank ). In 1997, Verkhovna Rada ,

5341-460: The United States and European Union , both critical of his regime. Kuchma boosted integration with Russia, considering the fact that its new leader, Vladimir Putin , continuously supported Kuchma and refused to recognize the allegations. In September 2003, Ukrainian troops joined U.S.-led invasion forces in the Iraq War , which was widely perceived as an effort by Kuchma to improve relations with

5450-400: The West. After that, high-level relations were partially restored. Commenting on the scandal and Melnychenko's actions in particular, Kuchma persistently claimed they were a result of foreign interference, but never accused any specific country. However, some of his statements may be interpreted as cautious hints on the role of either the United States or Russia. According to Kuchma, his voice

5559-517: The aforementioned scholars the building of the fortress of Kyiv was finished in 840 under the leadership of Keő (Keve), Csák, and Geréb, three brothers, possibly members of the Tarján tribe . The three names appear in the Kyiv Chronicle as Kyi, Shchek, and Khoryv and may be not of Slavic origin, as Russian historians have always struggled to account for their meanings and origins. According to Hungarian historian Viktor Padányi, their names were inserted into

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5668-449: The boundaries of Kyiv, which include the Dnieper itself, its reservoirs, and several small rivers, dozens of lakes and artificially created ponds. They occupy 7949 hectares. Additionally, the city has 16 developed beaches (totalling 140 hectares) and 35 near-water recreational areas (covering more than 1,000 hectares). Many are used for pleasure and recreation, although some of the bodies of water are not suitable for swimming. According to

5777-416: The buildings on the Khreshchatyk , the main street of the city, where German military and civil authorities had occupied most of the buildings; the buildings burned for days and 25,000 people were left homeless. Allegedly in response to the actions of the NKVD, the Germans rounded up all the local Jews they could find, nearly 34,000, and massacred them at Babi Yar in Kyiv on 29 and 30 September 1941. In

5886-508: The capital of the Amadoci people living in an area between the marshes of Amadoca in the west and the Amadoca mountains in the east. Another name for Kyiv mentioned in history, the origin of which is not completely clear, is Sambat, which apparently has something to do with the Khazar Empire . The Primary Chronicle says the residents of Kyiv told Askold "there were three brothers Kyi, Shchek, and Khoriv. They founded this town and died, and now we are staying and paying taxes to their relatives

5995-443: The case after the compact audio cassette used by Moroz. Melnychenko himself was supposedly using digital equipment, not cassettes, for recording in the president's office. The described events provoked a crisis, with mass protests in Kyiv from 15 December 2000 to 9 March 2001. Opposition started a campaign of non-violent resistance called UBK ("Ukraine without Kuchma"), demanding Kuchma's resignation. Despite economic growth in

6104-484: The case and trying to sell the audio archive to Kuchma's aides. Melnychenko visited Ukraine in 2005 to release new allegation details, but has not disclosed any details of his possible eavesdropping operation. The criminal investigation regarding the circumstances of Melnychenko's records and Georgiy Gongadze's death remains inconclusive despite a mass of information revealed by numerous journalistic investigations. Melnychenko's recordings were declared evidence when Kuchma

6213-399: The city again suffered significant damage, and Nazi Germany occupied it from 19 September 1941 to 6 November 1943 . Axis forces killed or captured more than 600,000 Soviet soldiers in the great encircling Battle of Kyiv in 1941. Most of those captured never returned alive. Shortly after the Wehrmacht occupied the city, a team of NKVD officers who had remained hidden dynamited most of

6322-406: The city border the Polesian Lowland . Kyiv expanded into the Dnieper Lowland on the left bank ( to the east ) as late as the 20th century. The whole portion of Kyiv on the left bank of the Dnieper is generally referred to as the Left Bank ( Лівий берег , Livyi bereh ). Significant areas of the left bank Dnieper valley were artificially sand-deposited, and are protected by dams. Within the city

6431-403: The city is now he erected a cross, where a church later was built. Since the Middle Ages an image of Saint Michael has represented the city as well as the duchy . There is little historical evidence pertaining to the period when the city was founded. Scattered Slavic settlements existed in the area from the 6th century, but it is unclear whether any of them later developed into the city. On

6540-420: The city sits on numerous wooded hills ( Kyiv Hills ), with ravines and small rivers. Kyiv's geographical relief contributed to its toponyms , such as Podil ("lower"), Pechersk ("caves"), and uzviz (a steep street, "descent"). Kyiv is a part of the larger Dnieper Upland adjoining the western bank of the Dnieper in its mid-flow, and which contributes to the city's elevation change. The northern outskirts of

6649-422: The city was 39.4 °C (102.9 °F) on 30 July 1936. The coldest temperature ever recorded in the city was −32.9 °C (−27.2 °F) on 11 January 1951. Snow cover usually lies from mid-November to the end of March, with the frost-free period lasting 180 days on average, but surpassing 200 days in some years. The municipality of the city of Kyiv has a special legal status within Ukraine compared to

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6758-566: The city was subdivided into 4 parts: Pechersk , Starokyiv, and the first and the second parts of Podil . In 1833–1834 according to Tsar Nicholas I 's decree, Kyiv was subdivided into 6 police raions ( districts ); later being increased to 10. In 1917, there were 8 Raion Councils ( Duma ), which were reorganised by bolsheviks into 6 Party-Territory Raions. Viktor Yushchenko Viktor Andriiovych Yushchenko ( Ukrainian : Віктор Андрійович Ющенко , IPA: [ˈwiktor ɐnˈd⁽ʲ⁾r⁽ʲ⁾ijowɪtʃ ˈjuʃtʃenko] ; born 23 February 1954)

6867-401: The city. According to Oleg Trubachyov 's etymological dictionary from the Old East Slavic name *Kyjevŭ gordŭ (literally, "Kyi's castle", "Kyi's gord "), from Proto-Slavic *kyjevъ , This etymology has been questioned, for instance by Mykhailo Hrushevsky who called it an "etymological myth", and meant that the names of the legendary founders are in turn based on place names. According to

6976-464: The city. However, the prevailing south wind blew most of the radioactive debris away from Kyiv. In the course of the collapse of the Soviet Union the Ukrainian parliament proclaimed the Declaration of Independence of Ukraine in the city on 24 August 1991. In 2004–2005, the city played host to the largest post-Soviet public demonstrations up to that time, in support of the Orange Revolution . From November 2013 until February 2014, central Kyiv became

7085-468: The country, President Kuchma's public approval ratings fell below 9%. In 2002, the governments of the United States and other countries became more deeply involved after one of the recordings revealed the alleged transfer of a sophisticated Ukrainian defence system Kolchuga to Saddam Hussein 's Iraq . As a result, Leonid Kuchma was boycotted by Western governments for a time. In particular, he experienced an offensive diplomatic démarche when visiting

7194-532: The court from ruling on the constitutionality of his decree dismissing Ukraine's parliament. Yushchenko again tried to dissolve the parliament on 9 October 2008 by announcing parliamentary elections to be held on 7 December. Yushchenko's decree was suspended and subsequently lapsed. Yushchenko in defense of his actions said, "I am deeply convinced that the democratic coalition was ruined by one thing alone—human ambition. The ambition of one person." Political groups including members of his own Our Ukraine party contested

7303-491: The creation of the coalition from the list of members of parliament. Yushchenko claimed (19 March 2009) that his conflicts with Tymoshenko are not due to personal differences, but to the incompleteness of the constitutional reforms of 2004. On 23 July 2009, under the terms of Ukraine's Constitution the president cannot dismiss the parliament within six months from the expiration of his five-year term of authority, which ended on 23 January 2010. On 10 November 2009, Yushchenko

7412-417: The development of housing and urban infrastructure. Kyiv emerged as the most pro-Western region of Ukraine; parties advocating tighter integration with the European Union dominate during elections . The traditional etymology, stemming from the Primary Chronicle , is that the name is a derivation of Kyi (Ukrainian: Кий , Russian: Кий , rom. : Ky or Kiy ), the legendary eponymous founder of

7521-462: The election decree and politicians vowed to challenge it in the courts. In December 2008, following a back room revolt from members of Our Ukraine-Peoples' Self Defense Party a revised coalition was formed between members of Our Ukraine (OU-PSD), the Bloc of Yulia Tymoshenko (BYuT), and the Lytvyn Bloc (LB), increasing the size of the governing coalition by an additional 20 members. Yushchenko in responding to journalists questions claimed "The fact

7630-485: The election, and that the money was transferred from his companies, but he refused to confirm or deny that the money was used in Yushchenko's campaign. Financing of election campaigns by foreign citizens is illegal in Ukraine. In August 2006, Yushchenko appointed his onetime opponent in the presidential race, Yanukovych, to be the new prime minister. This was generally regarded as indicating a rapprochement with Russia. On 2 April 2007, Yushchenko signed an order to dissolve

7739-513: The empire's most important religious figures, but until the 19th century, the city's commercial importance remained marginal. In 1834, the Russian government established Saint Vladimir University, now called the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv after the Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko (1814–1861). (Shevchenko worked as a field researcher and editor for the geography department). The medical faculty of Saint Vladimir University, separated into an independent institution in 1919–1921 during

7848-678: The end of the Ukrainian-Soviet and Polish-Soviet wars in 1921, Kyiv was a city of the Ukrainian SSR , and made its capital in 1934. The city suffered significant destruction during World War II but quickly recovered in the postwar years, remaining the Soviet Union 's third-largest city. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union and Ukrainian independence in 1991, Kyiv remained Ukraine's capital and experienced

7957-545: The era of World War II, the ultranationalist leader Stepan Bandera , awarding him the title of Hero of Ukraine . Yushchenko's decision immediately caused an uproar and was condemned by the European Parliament and Russian, Polish, and Jewish organizations and was declared illegal by the following Ukrainian government and a court decision in April 2010. In January 2011, the award was officially annulled. In

8066-574: The event, with his appearance on stage at the end criticised as 'undignified' by certain commentators. During 2005, Yushchenko was in confident mood, making such pledges as solving the Gongadze case to the removal of Russia's Black Sea Fleet . In August 2005, Yushchenko joined with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili in signing the Borjomi Declaration , which called for the creation of an institution of international cooperation,

8175-482: The founding as late as the late 9th century. There are several legendary accounts of the origin of the city. One tells of members of a Slavic tribe ( Eastern Polans ), brothers Kyi (the eldest, after whom the city was named), Shchek, Khoryv, and their sister Lybid, who founded the city (See the Primary Chronicle ). Another legend states that Saint Andrew passed through the area in the 1st century. Where

8284-621: The last three months of 1919, Kyiv was intermittently controlled by the White Army . Kyiv changed hands sixteen times from the end of 1918 to August 1920. From 1921 to 1991, the city formed part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic , which became a founding republic of the Soviet Union in 1922. The major events that took place in Soviet Ukraine during the interwar period all affected Kyiv:

8393-544: The late paleolithic period ( Stone Age ). The population around Kyiv during the Bronze Age formed part of the so-called Trypillian culture , as evidenced by artifacts from that culture found in the area. During the early Iron Age certain tribes settled around Kyiv that practiced land cultivation, husbandry and trading with the Scythians and ancient states of the northern Black Sea coast. Findings of Roman coins of

8502-451: The monitoring, form, distribution, and elimination of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzodioxin (TCDD) in Yushchenko in relation to his severe poisoning. The 2004 TCDD levels in Yushchenko's blood serum were 50,000 times greater than those in the general population. This new study also concluded that the dioxin "was so pure that it was definitely made in a laboratory". On 27 September 2009, Yushchenko said in an interview aired on Channel 1+1 that

8611-616: The months that followed, thousands more were taken to Babi Yar where they were shot. It is estimated that the Germans murdered more than 100,000 people of various ethnic groups, mostly civilians, at Babi Yar during World War II. Kyiv recovered economically in the post-war years, becoming once again the third-most important city of the Soviet Union. The catastrophic accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in 1986 occurred only 100 km (62 mi) north of

8720-506: The native culture in Kyiv, by clandestine book-printing, amateur theatre, folk studies, etc. During the Russian industrial revolution in the late 19th century, Kyiv became an important trade and transportation centre of the Russian Empire, specialising in sugar and grain export by railway and on the Dnieper river . By 1900, the city had also become a significant industrial centre, with a population of 250,000. Landmarks of that period include

8829-648: The number of seats won was not a majority, and efforts to form a majority coalition with other opposition parties failed. Since then, Yushchenko has remained the leader and public face of the Our Ukraine parliamentary faction . In 2001, both Yushchenko and Tymoshenko broached at creating a broad opposition bloc against the incumbent President Kuchma in order to win the Ukrainian presidential election 2004 . In late 2002 Yushchenko, Oleksandr Moroz ( Socialist Party of Ukraine ), Petro Symonenko (Communist Party of Ukraine) and Tymoshenko ( Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc ) issued

8938-558: The old town and the prince's hall in ruins. He took many pieces of religious artwork - including the Theotokos of Vladimir icon - from Vyshhorod. In 1203, Prince Rurik Rostislavich and his Kipchak allies captured and burned Kyiv. In the 1230s, the city was besieged and ravaged several times by different Rus princes. The city had not recovered from these attacks when, in 1240, the Mongol invasion of Rus' , led by Batu Khan , completed

9047-552: The other administrative subdivisions of the country . The most significant difference is that the city is considered as a region of Ukraine (see Regions of Ukraine ). It is the only city that has double jurisdiction. The Head of City State Administration – the city's governor – is appointed by the president of Ukraine , while the Head of the City Council – the mayor of Kyiv – is elected by local popular vote. The mayor of Kyiv

9156-548: The other being Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych . During the election campaign in late 2004, Yushchenko became the victim of an assassination attempt when he was poisoned with dioxin . He suffered disfigurement as a result of the poisoning, but survived. The runoff election in November 2004, won by Yanukovych, was marred by widespread accusations of election fraud , leading to the Orange Revolution and an order by

9265-538: The parliament and call early elections. Some consider the dissolution order illegal because none of the conditions spelled out under Article 90 of the Constitution of Ukraine for the president to dissolve the legislature had been met. Yushchenko's detractors argued that he was attempting to usurp the functions of the Constitutional Court by claiming constitutional violations by the parliament as

9374-440: The parliament of Ukraine, re-appointed him. As a central banker, Yushchenko played an important part in the creation of Ukraine 's national currency , the hryvnia , and the establishment of a modern regulatory system for commercial banking. He also successfully overcame a debilitating wave of hyper-inflation that hit the country—he brought inflation down from more than 10,000 percent to less than 10 percent—and managed to defend

9483-526: The parliament ratified his government with 289 votes. Also in September 2005, former president Leonid Kravchuk accused exiled Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky of financing Yushchenko's presidential election campaign, and provided copies of documents showing money transfers from companies he said were controlled by Berezovsky to companies controlled by Yushchenko's official backers. Berezovsky confirmed that he met Yushchenko's representatives in London before

9592-410: The part of the migrant population not registered for ration cards; and Joseph Stalin 's Great Purge of 1937–1938 almost eliminated the city's intelligentsia In 1934, Kyiv became the capital of Soviet Ukraine. The city boomed again during the years of Soviet industrialization as its population grew rapidly and many industrial giants were established, some of which exist today. In World War II ,

9701-412: The previous candidate, Valeriy Pustovoytenko . Ukraine's economy improved during Yushchenko's cabinet service. However, his government, particularly Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko , soon became embroiled in a confrontation with influential leaders of the coal mining and natural gas industries. The conflict resulted in a no-confidence vote by the parliament on 26 April 2001, orchestrated by

9810-467: The primary location of Euromaidan . During the onset of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russian forces attempted to seize Kyiv but were repelled by Ukrainian forces on the outskirts of the city; Kyiv itself escaped major damage. Following the Russian retreat from the region in April 2022, Kyiv has been subject to frequent air strikes . Geographically, Kyiv is on the border of

9919-406: The railway infrastructure, the foundation of numerous educational and cultural facilities, and notable architectural monuments (mostly merchant-oriented). In 1892, the first electric tram line of the Russian Empire started running in Kyiv (the third in the world). Kyiv prospered during the late 19th century Industrial Revolution in the Russian Empire, when it became the third most important city of

10028-543: The result of chloracne, and found dioxin levels in Yushchenko's blood 6,000 times above normal. On 11 December, Michael Zimpfer of the Rudolfinerhaus clinic declared that Yushchenko had ingested TCDD dioxin and had 1,000 times the usual concentration in his body. Many have linked Yushchenko's poisoning to a dinner with a group of senior Ukrainian officials (including Volodymyr Satsyuk ) that took place on 5 September. Since 2005, Yushchenko has been treated by

10137-402: The second round of Ukraine's presidential election, Yushchenko did not support either of the candidates, Yanukovych or Tymoshenko. Yushchenko attributed his low popularity ratings to his adherence to his principles. "Ukraine is a European democratic country", Yushchenko said at the polling station. "It is a free nation and free people." In the following days, he said that "Ukraine doesn't have

10246-588: The testimony of three men who were at a dinner in 2004 at which he believes he was poisoned is crucial to finishing the investigation, and he claimed these men were in Russia. Ukrainian prosecutors said Russia has refused to extradite one of the men, the former deputy chief of Ukraine's security service , Volodymyr Satsyuk, because he holds both Russian and Ukrainian citizenship . Satsyuk returned to Ukraine in 2012 and tried to relaunch his political career, but did not succeed. At 12 pm ( Kyiv time ) on 23 January 2005

10355-524: The time more jeopardized than five to ten years earlier. The first round of the elections took place on 17 January 2010, and Yushchenko dropped to a distant fifth place with only 5.45% of the vote. His result became the worst result for any sitting president. Yushchenko stated that he wanted to continue to defend democracy in Ukraine and that he wanted to return to the presidency. On 22 January 2010, as outgoing President, Yushchenko officially rehabilitated one of Ukraine's most controversial figures from

10464-703: The time of the Lithuanian rule, the core of the city was located in Podil and there was a Lithuanian Kyiv Castle  [ uk ] with 18 towers on the Zamkova Hora which served as a residence of Vladimir Olgerdovich , Grand Prince of Kyiv , and subsequently of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania (e.g. Vytautas ). With the 1569 Union of Lublin , when the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

10573-434: The transport of Turkmen natural gas to Ukraine and the arrest of Yuri Boyko for abuse of office while heading Naftogaz . On 8 September 2005, Yushchenko fired his government , led by Tymoshenko, after resignations and claims of corruption. On 9 September, acting Prime Minister Yekhanurov tried to form a new government. His first attempt, on 20 September, fell short by 3 votes of the necessary 226, but on 22 September

10682-647: The treaty never went into operation. Occupied by Russian troops since the 1654 Treaty of Pereyaslav , Kyiv became a part of the Tsardom of Russia from 1667 on the Truce of Andrusovo and enjoyed a degree of autonomy. None of the Polish-Russian treaties concerning Kyiv have ever been ratified. In the Russian Empire , Kyiv was a primary Christian centre , attracting pilgrims , and the cradle of many of

10791-504: The value of the currency following the 1998 Russian financial crisis . In 1998, he wrote a thesis entitled "The Development of Supply and Demand of Money in Ukraine" and defended it in the Ukrainian Academy of Banking . He thereby earned a doctorate in economics. In December 1999, Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma unexpectedly nominated Yushchenko to be the prime minister after the parliament failed by one vote to ratify

10900-556: The western right bank of the river, the city expanded into the left bank only in the 20th century. Most of Kyiv's attractions as well as the majority of business and governmental institutions are on the right bank. The eastern "Left Bank" is predominantly residential. There are large industrial and green areas in both the Right Bank and the Left Bank. Kyiv is further informally divided into historical or territorial neighbourhoods, each housing from about 5,000 to 100,000 inhabitants. The first known formal subdivision of Kyiv dates to 1810 when

11009-414: Was prime minister under President Leonid Kuchma . After his dismissal as prime minister, Yushchenko went into opposition to President Kuchma and founded Our Ukraine Bloc , which at the 2002 parliamentary election became Ukraine's most popular political force. As an informal leader of the Ukrainian opposition coalition, he was one of the two main candidates in the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election ,

11118-626: Was a Red Army soldier imprisoned at Auschwitz , of being "a Nazi ," even though Yushchenko actively reached out to the Jewish community in Ukraine and his mother is said to have risked her life by hiding three Jewish girls for one and a half years during the Second World War. Yushchenko became seriously ill in early September 2004. He was flown to Vienna 's Rudolfinerhaus clinic for treatment and diagnosed with acute pancreatitis , accompanied by interstitial edematous abnormalities, due to

11227-526: Was a tributary of the Khazars , until its capture by the Varangians ( Vikings ) in the mid-9th century. Under Varangian rule, the city became a capital of Kievan Rus' , the first East Slavic state. Completely destroyed during the Mongol invasions in 1240, the city lost most of its influence for the centuries to come. Coming under Lithuania , then Poland and then Russia , the city would grow from

11336-534: Was appointed the head of the presidential secretariat with a nominal title of Secretary of State. Petro Poroshenko , a fierce competitor of Tymoshenko for the post of prime minister, was appointed Secretary of the Security and Defense Council . In May 2005, Ukraine hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in the capital of Kyiv . Some accused Yushchenko of attempting to gain political capital from

11445-573: Was born is predominantly Ukrainian-speaking, and this differentiated him in later life from his political counterparts, for whom Russian was the mother tongue. Yushchenko graduated from the Ternopil Finance and Economics Institute in 1975. He began work as an accountant, as a deputy to the chief accountant in a kolkhoz . From 1975 to 1976, he served as a conscript in the Transcaucasian Military District on

11554-466: Was charged with abuse of office and giving illegal orders to Interior Ministry officials; a criminal case into the murder of Gongadze was opened against Kuchma on 21 March 2011. A Ukrainian district court ordered prosecutors to drop criminal charges against Kuchma on 14 December 2011 on grounds that evidence linking him to the murder of Gongadze was insufficient. The court rejected Melnychenko's recordings as evidence. Kyiv Kyiv (also Kiev )

11663-745: Was established, the Lithuanian-controlled lands of the Kyiv region ( Podolia , Volhynia , and Podlachia ) were transferred from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland , and Kyiv became the capital of Kyiv Voivodeship . The 1658 Treaty of Hadiach envisaged Kyiv becoming the capital of the Grand Duchy of Rus' within the Polish–Lithuanian–Ruthenian Commonwealth , but this provision of

11772-423: Was indeed on the tapes, but he claimed that they had been selectively edited to distort his meaning. Many figures of the scandal remained influential in Ukrainian politics. The case was directly connected with the political career of Viktor Yushchenko , Ukraine's prime minister at the time. Oleksander Moroz concluded an alliance with Yushchenko, resulting in the reformation of Ukraine's constitution (in favor of

11881-454: Was nominated for a second term as president , with the election to be held on 17 January 2010. In late November 2009, he stated he was going to leave politics after his possible second term. During the campaign, Yushchenko claimed that his fellow candidates "Tymoshenko and Yanukovych are not ideologists who care about the fate of Ukraine and its interests. They are two political adventurers" and that Ukraine's independence and sovereignty were at

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