Kiev

Kiev (Kyiv in Ukrainian) is the capital city of Ukraine, located in the north-central part of the country along the banks of the river Dnipro (Dnieper river). It has a population of about three million.

Kiev oblast is the province surrounding the city of Kiev.

History

Following are some historical milestones of Kiev's history:

• Legend has it that Kiev was founded about 500 CE by three brothers -- Ky, Khoriv, and Shchek -- along with their sister Lybid.
• Around 900 CE, King Oleh from Scandinavia seized power over the city, starting the Kyivan Rus' dynasty. (The term rus' means red-haired.)
• For 100 years the region expanded as a riverine trade route, sending fur, honey, and slaves south to Constantinople, and receiving luxury goods in return.
• Around 1000 CE, King Volodymyr married into Constantinople royalty and forcibly converted the people of Kiev from paganism to Orthodox Christianity. Subsequently Yaroslav the Wise (Volodymyr's son) expanded Kiev into a major sociopolitical and economic center.
• Mongol raiders sacked Kiev in 1240, and the city languished and shrank.
• About 1800, czarist policies encouraged an influx of Russian immigration, boosting the population considerably.
• In the early 1900s, the Bolshevik Revolution resulted in many Red versus White battles in and around Kiev, and subsequent Stalinist famines killed many.
• Early in the 1940s, the German invasion of World War II also destroyed many lives, both military and civilian.
• Around 1990, as the Soviet Union crumbled, Ukrainians agitated for independence, ultimately leading to the peaceful democratic Orange Revolution in the first decade of the 21st Century.