A nation rich in colorful traditions, warm-hearted people and off-the-beaten-track travel experiences, Ukraine is one of Europe 's last genuine travel frontiers. Marc Di Duca, Lonely Planet Writer Our Promise You can trust our travel information because Lonely Planet authors visit the places we write about, each and every edition. We never accept freebies for positive coverage, and you can rely on us to tell it like we see it. Inside This Book 48 maps25 crumbling castles84 days of researchOne too many vodka toastsInspirational photosClear, easy-to-use mapsIn-depth backgroundAt-a-glance practical informationComprehensive planning toolsEasy-to-read layout

Culture Smart! provides essential information on attitudes, beliefs and behavior in different countries, ensuring that you arrive at your destination aware of basic manners, common courtesies, and sensitive issues. These concise guides tell you what to expect, how to behave, and how to establish a rapport with your hosts. This inside knowledge will enable you to steer clear of embarrassing gaffes and mistakes, feel confident in unfamiliar situations, and develop trust, friendships, and successful business relationships.Culture Smart! offers illuminating insights into the culture and society of a particular country. It will help you to turn your visit-whether on business or for pleasure-into a memorable and enriching experience. Contents include* customs, values, and traditions* historical, religious, and political background* life at home* leisure, social, and cultural life* eating and drinking* do's, don'ts, and taboos* business practices* communication, spoken and unspoken"Culture Smart has come to the rescue of hapless travellers." Sunday Times Travel"... the perfect introduction to the weird, wonderful and downright odd quirks and customs of various countries." Global Travel"...full of fascinating-as well as common-sense-tips to help you avoid embarrassing faux pas." Observer"...as useful as they are entertaining." Easyjet Magazine"...offer glimpses into the psyche of a faraway world." New York Times

Borderland tells the story of Ukraine. A thousand years ago it was the center of the first great Slav civilization, Kievan Rus. In 1240, the Mongols invaded from the east, and for the next seven centureies, Ukraine was split between warring neighbors: Lithuanians, Poles, Russians, Austrians, and Tatars. Again and again, borderland turned into battlefield: during the Cossack risings of the seventeenth century, Russia’s wars with Sweden in the eighteenth, the Civil War of 1918–1920, and under Nazi occupation. Ukraine finally won independence in 1991, with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Bigger than France and a populous as Britain, it has the potential to become one of the most powerful states in Europe.In this finely written and penetrating book, Anna Reid combines research and her own experiences to chart Ukraine’s tragic past. Talking to peasants and politicians, rabbis and racketeers, dissidents and paramilitaries, survivors of Stalin’s famine and of Nazi labor camps, she reveals the layers of myth and propaganda that wrap this divided land. From the Polish churches of Lviv to the coal mines of the Russian-speaking Donbass, from the Galician shtetlech to the Tatar shantytowns of Crimea, the book explores Ukraine’s struggle to build itself a national identity, and identity that faces up to a bloody past, and embraces all the peoples within its borders.

The Harvest of Sorrow is the first full history of one of the most horrendous human and social tragedies of our century. As Robert Conquest shows in heart-rending detail, Stalin's plan to collectivize Soviet agriculture amounted to an unparalleled assault on the Soviet peasantry and Unkrainian nation, resulting in a death toll higher than that suffered in World War I by all the belligerent nations combined. Millions of men, women, and children died in Arctic exile, while millions more perished in the terror-famine of 1932-33. Then it was all over, the survivors had been forced into the new collective farms and were at last, with the products of their labors, under strict party and state control. In the Ukraine all centers of independent national feeling had been crushed. Conquest meticulously reconstructs the background of the tragic events: the lives and aspirations of the peasants, the Ukrainian national struggle, the motives and methods of the Communist leadership. He carefully details the fate of villages and individuals and seeks a true accounting of the death toll, suppressed in official Societ statistics but deducible from other sources. He describes the desperate condition of children who were left homeless and recounts the various cruelties and agonies of the man-made famine. He also shows how the West was, to a large degree, deceived about what was happening. Like The Great Terror, Conquest's classic account of the Soviet mass purges of the late 1930s, The Harvest of Sorrow is a powerful and moving story that is also a work of authoritative scholarship. About the Author: Robert Conquest is a Senior Research Fellow and Scholar-Curator of the East European Collection at the Hoover Institution, Stanford, University. He has authored numerous books on Soviet studies and foreign policy. The acclaimed author of The Great Terror ducments a human tragedy of epic proportions ·A long-neglected chapter in the history of the twentieth century ·A heart-rending chronicle of the fate of villages and individuals under Stalin's collectivization program ·Seeks a true account of the death toll and shows how the West was deceived

Just slightly smaller than Texas, Ukraine is the largest country in Europe. With its rich dark soil and vast fields of wheat, Ukraine is also known as the bread basket of Europe. Originally published in 1994, this best-selling guide to a scenic and culturally rich country has been completely revised and updated for its fifth edition. With new color photos, maps and sites of interest, along with details about visas and customs, hotels, travel agents, established restaurants, art galleries, shopping and local traditions.This guide offers a goldmine of information for travellers, and shines a light on unspoiled places, while larger cities such as Lviv, Kiev and Odessa are covered in depth. The language section is designed to cover situations encountered by a newcomer to the country, and includes notes intended specifically for students and businesspeople. This book contains useful advice on everything from planning the trip and appropriate gifts for hosts, to proposing to a Ukrainian should you happen to fall in love. An additional section on items that can confuse even the most seasoned traveller to Ukraine, such as abbreviated signage, rounds out this resourceful guidebook.

This phrasebook provides a world of words on traditional dance, folk music and local Ukrainian customs. It gives language tips when bargining for crafts and souvenirs, and there are sections on hiking, sports and going out. Transliteration features alongside local script.

On April 26, 1986, Reactor #4 at the V. I. Lenin Nuclear Power Plant near Chernobyl exploded, releasing 400 times more radioactive matter than the bombing of Hiroshima. Igor Kostin, then a reporter for the Novosti Agency, took the very first photograph of the accident, continuing to endure massive radiation overexposure to document the disaster for the International Atomic Energy Agency. For the next twenty years he persistently investigated the explosion’s effects on mankind and the environment. This never-seen-before photographic collection tells the incredible stories of liquidators, soldiers, scientists, and residents throughout Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, Latvia, Germany, Sweden, and France that have been socially, politically, and medically impacted by the catastrophe, creating a global perspective of the tragedy. With a distance of 20 years this spring, Chernobyl: Confession of a Reporter sparks timely debate over the health and sociological implications of current global energy policies. Igor Kostin, born in Moldava in 1936, is a laureate of the most distinguished international prizes including five World Press Photo, a contributor to Time, Newsweek, Paris-Match, Liberation, and Stern. Kostin lives and works in Kiev, 50 kilometers from Chernobyl.

Palaces that emerge from the mountains, beaches with names like “New World,” ski resort towns straight out of a Bond film, and clubs where passwords must be whispered to enter – it must be Ukraine. A secret favorite of backpackers for years, Ukraine is finally getting recognized by the outside world for what it is: a can’t miss travel destination. This unique travel guide provides insight into Ukraine’s vast history in a – dare we say – fun way. Travelers will be eased into this Eastern European country’s cultural norms and introduced to its taboos in order to avoid embarrassing cross-cultural no-no's. With transliterations of all entries, first-hand reviews and recommendations, and a focus on the country’s must-see places and off-the-beaten-path gems, this guidebook will act like your international chaperone; making falling in love with Ukraine that much easier. The author, Ashley Hardaway, has lived and worked in Ukraine for over two years; getting to know the culture overtime through the slow-burn of a budding relationship. This isn’t merely a one-off observation – this is true love. - Explore the “secret-city” of Balaclava and tour its hidden nuclear submarine base. - Blaze new trails in hidden ski towns where military-grade vehicles serve as impromptu ski-lifts. - Uncover the odd bars of Lviv, its speakeasies and how to get in. - Sleep in the grandiose apartments of past oligarchs in Odessa. - Drink horilka with the locals and learn to toast with the best of them. - Have an existential crisis while touring the deserted town of Prypiat in Chernobyl. - Learn why Ukrainians fear “the draft,” why not to whistle indoors, and what is meant by a flick of the neck.