1. { Ukraine “The Bread Basket of Europe”

2. - Ukraine is in the continent of Europe. -The population of Ukraine is about 45.8 million -GDP per capita is $7,233 (compared to $48k in US) - Ukrainians speak the official Ukrainian How to say Hello:Вітаю (Vitayu)Вітаю (Vitayu) - 40 languages are spoken in Ukraine, but mainly Ukrainian & Russian

3. Flag of Ukraine   The blue skies and the golden wheat fields   Alternate variations (1917-1921):   Gold on top to represent the domes of the Christian churches and blue on the bottom for the Dnieper river   Golden fire and blue water   Coat of Arms adopted 19 February 1992   Depicts a Falcon or the Holy Spirit

4.  Main religion: Eastern Orthodox (celebrate Christmas, Holy Supper)  Saint Andrew’s Church of Kiev  Second in number of followers is Catholicism  62.5% claim they have no religion though Religion

5.  Easter is the most important holiday  Known for decoration of eggs (pysanky)  Acrylic or oil painted hollow egg shells  Christmas is celebrated on January 7  Per the Julian calendar Important Holidays

6.  Borscht: a vegetable soup made out of beets, cabbage, potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, dill and the dish often includes meat  Varenyky: dumplings stuffed with fillings such as potato and cheese, often served boiled (Perogy)  Deruny: potato pancakes, usually served with rich servings of sour cream  Sausage: various kinds of smoked or boiled pork, beef, or chicken sausage  Paska: Easter bread  Poppy seeds and bread items are popular Ukrainian Cuisine

7. Traditional Clothing Embroidery is very important in Ukrainian tradition Believed to provide protection and Fertility

8.  The Ivan Kupalo festival  Kupalo was the god of love and fertility  Young men and women gather around streams and ponds  Send wreaths of flowers down the stream  If your wreath floats you will find luck in love Rites of Passage

9.  Never shake hands (or offer anything) over a threshold: it’s considered really bad luck  Never let a young unmarried woman sit at the corner of the table  Always bring an odd number of flowers to a house  Drive on the right side of road Some Rules to Remember in Ukraine

10.  Semipresidentialism  President and Prime Minister both are active in day-to-day administration  Currently there are protests demanding a recount of votes  The Regions  The Punch Party  The Freedom Party Type of Government

11.  Chernobyl disaster on April 26, 1986  Became independent in 1991 when the Soviet Union dissolved  GDP dropped 20% from spring 2008 to spring 2009  Third largest grain exporter Interesting Facts

12. Famous Ukrainians   Igor Sikorsky. 1889-1972. Born in Kyiv. Inventor of the helicopter   George Gamow. 1904-1968. Born in Odesa, Ukraine. Physicist and popular science author. One of the earliest advocates of the Big Bang theory.   Liliya Podkopayeva (woman’s all around 1996)   45 gold, 21 silver and 14 bronze medals   Yana Klochkova   Oksana Baiul   Maksim Chmerkovskiy   Milla Jovovich