Did You Know

Interesting Facts about Ukraine

Trivia, oddities, and curious tidbits about Ukraine.

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13 curious facts about Ukraine.

Ukraine has the world's fewest ratio of men with 53.7% being female.
The Ukrainian flag of blue and yellow symbolizes a field of yellow grain with a blue sky overhead.
With the recent independence of Ukraine from Russia, Ukraine is attempting to reintroduce Ukrainian words for Russian ones, as part of the country's activity to reclaim it's heritage. For example, what we know as Kiev is now called Kyiv.
During the Soviet period many retired Russian officers moved to Crimea not only because of its mild, healing seaside climate, but also for political reasons. The area was also a popular place for workers to take vacations. There is still a large number of Russians in Crimea, although the peninsula is an integral part of Ukraine.

Ukraine has an important aerospace industry. The largest airplane in the world was built in Ukraine, and a Ukrainian factory built rockets for the Soviet space program. Ukraine launched its first satellite in 1995.
There are many circus troupes in the Ukraine. Kyiv Circus School trains circus performers in acrobatics.
Ukrainian athletes won more than 190 individual or team gold medals during the period of Soviet rule. At the 1994 Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer and the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Ukrainians represented their own country. Ukrainians have won medals in gymnastics, track and field and figure skating. The well-known skaters Viktor Petrenko and Oksana Baiul are Ukrainian.
The Chernobyl explosion is said to be as destructive as the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
It is easy to tell the difference between modern written Russian and Ukrainian, even if you can't speak the language! Look for the letter “i” which is used in written Ukrainian, but not in Russian, where the “i” sound is represented by a different letter.
Orthodox and Catholic churches can be distinguished by the crosses on them. The Orthodox cross has an extra bar, crossing the upright bar at an angle. The Catholic cross has only one horizontal bar.