Some Interesting Facts About Ukraine

Public Holidays

Ukraine threw off its mantle of a communist country way back in the 1990s, and the country’s new-found freedom has ensured that the religious festivals of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church need longer be kept under wraps. Christian festivals, in fact, form a major chunk of the public holidays in Ukraine, although some secular festivals are also observed.

Date 2004                  Occasion
January 1                    New Year’s Day
January 7                    Orthodox Christmas
January 14                   Orthodox New Year
March 8                       International Women’s Day
April 9                          Orthodox Good Friday
April 11                        Orthodox Easter
May 1                           Labour Day Holiday
May 9                          Victory Day
June 28                       Constitution Day
August 24                    Ukrainian Independence Day

In cases where a holiday falls on a Sunday, the Monday following it is a holiday.

Weekend: Saturday, Sunday

Customs & Duties

Travellers entering Ukraine are allowed to bring in, free of customs duty, up to 200 gm of tobacco (in any form- as cigarettes, cigars or loose tobacco), gifts worth US$210 and whatever personal effects are required, including perfumes, clothing and cosmetics. In addition, if you’re over 20 years of age, you may bring into the country up to 1 lt of spirit and 2 lt of wine. A maximum of US$ 10,000 may be brought into Ukraine; any amount exceeding this will have to be declared on a separate form obtainable from the customs department.

Electricity

220 volts, 50Hz is the power supplied through out the country.

Post & Communications

Postage, including stamps, envelopes and post cards, can be bought at post offices and at most large hotels. Postal services are not exemplary, and international mail can take as long as a fortnight- or more, if you’re unlucky- to be delivered, even to destinations within Europe. The main post office in the country is the Kiev Post Office, at Khreschchatik 22, open 24 hours. Smaller post offices usually function from 8 to 5 on weekdays.  

Telephone calls, both local as well as international, may be made from booths, hotels or from telephone centres. Fax services are available in most hotels and offices, and telegrams can be sent from central post offices in large cities. Kiev, Odessa, Lviv and Cherkassy have cyber cafés as well.   

Weights and measures

The Metric system is followed in the country.

Tipping

Tipping isn’t expected at lower-rung establishments in most of Ukraine, but posh restaurants in large cities will generally levy a service charge of 5%. This is added on to your bill, but staff will expect you to top that up with something additional- about another 5%- if they’ve been particularly attentive and good at their work. 

English Language Media

International newspapers and magazines are available at large newsstands in Kiev, but that’s about all. For local news, try getting hold of the News from Ukraine- a publication which is very up-to-date and finds its way to about 70 countries across the world.

For radio and television programmes in English, Voice of America or BBC are about the only options. Most hotels, at least in the more popular tourist destinations, have satellite television through which you can tune into channels like CNN and BBC.