Kharkiv (Ukrainian: ХаÌрків; Russian: ХаÌрьков, Russian translit. Kharkov) is the second largest city in Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Kharkiv Oblast (province), as well as the administrative center of the surrounding Kharkivskyi Raion (district) within the oblast. The city is located in the northeast of the country at around . As of 2006, its population is 1,461,300. People living in Kharkiv are known as Kharkovities.
Kharkiv is one of the main industrial, cultural and educational centres of Ukraine. Its industry and research specialize on arms production and machinery. There are hundreds of industrial companies in the city. Among them are world famous giants Morozov Design Bureau and Malyshev Tank Factory (Zavod Malysheva, a leader in tank production since the 1930s), Hartron (aerospace and nuclear electronics) and Turboatom (turbines producer).
There is an underground rapid-transit system with 35 km of track and 28 stations. Another landmark of Kharkiv is its Freedom Square (Ploshcha Svobody), which is the second largest city square in Europe, and the 4th largest square in the world.
GeographyKharkiv rests at the confluence of the Kharkiv, Lopan, and Udy Rivers, where they flow into the Seversky Donets watershed.
Government Administrative subdivisionsKharkiv is divided into nine administrative regions:
Of the many attractions of the Kharkiv city are the: Gosprom building, Memorial Complex, Freedom Square, Taras Shevchenko Monument, Mirror Stream, Uspensky Cathedral, Militia Museum, Pokriv Cathedral, T. Shevchenko Gardens, Kharkiv's funicular, Blagovishensky (Blessed News) Cathedral, Children's narrow-gauge railroad, Building on Sumskaya Street #6,and many more.
TransportationThe city of Kharkiv is one of the largest transportation centers in Ukraine, which is connected to numerous cities of the world by air, rail and road traffic. The city has many transportation methods, including: public transport, taxis, railways, and air traffic.
Being a transportation center in Ukraine, Kharkiv itself contains many different transportation methods. Kharkiv's Metro is the city's rapid transit system, which includes three different lines with 28 stations in total. The Kharkiv buses carry about 12 million passengers annually.
Various public transportation methods in the city are: Buses (12 million passengers annually), Kharkiv Metro, trolleybuses, tramways (which celebrated 100 years of service in 2006), and marshrutkas (private minibuses).
The first railway connection of Kharkiv was opened in 1869. The first train to arrive in Kharkiv came from the north on May 22nd, 1869, and on June 6th, 1869, traffic was opened on the Kursk-Kharkiv-Azov line. Kharkiv's passenger railway station was reconstructed and expanded in 1901, to be later destroyed in the Second World War. A new railway station was built in 1952.
Various railway transportation methods available in the city are the: Railway trains, and elektrichkas (regional electric trains).
Today Kharkiv is served by an international airport which used to have about 200 flights a day, almost all of them being passenger flights. The Kharkiv Osnova International Airport was only recently granted international status. The airport itself is not big and is situated near the south of the city. Flights to Kiev are available on a daily basis, flights to Vienna are available four times a week, flights to Istanbul are available only two times a week, and flights to other cities are available as well, but are not as common. The air carrier that operates and offers flights to seven countries of the world from the Kharkiv Airport is the Kharkiv Airlines.
The Kharkiv North Airport is a factory airfield and was a major production facility for Tupolev.
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