Kyiv CS Sich - Київ КС Січ
Historical
Early days
According to the legend, Kyiv is called after Kyi, who in the 5th century fonded the city, together with his brothers Schek (not Shrek) and Khoriv, and their sister Lybed. By the 9th century, Kyiv was a major center, and the capital of the Eastern Slavs. Short after, in 988, Great Prince Vladimir made Christianity the religion of the region. It made Kyiv thrive, with its good relations with the Byzantines and Bulgarians. But in the 13th century The Kievan Rus started to decline. Mostly because of the invasions of Mongolians and other Asian tribes.
Remnants of these early days can still be seen at the Golden Gate. And on Maidan, the monument to the founders of Kyiv remembers those days.
The next few hundred years, Kyiv and Ukraine were ruled by foreign nations: The Tatar-Mongols, Poles, Lithuanians. Untill in 1648, Cossack leader Bogdan Chmelnitsky managed to gain some independence. A few years later though, he made a deal with Moscow, a deal that would render Ukraine part of the Russian empire till 1918.
In 1918, after the Russian Revolution, Ukraine was declared an independent country. It was immediately incorporated into the Soviet Union though, and only on 24 august 1991, Ukraine became an autonomous state again.
The Orange Revolution of 2004 and the EuroMaidan of 2013-2014, attempts to become a Western democracy, prove that history is still in the making in Kyiv and Ukraine.
To see:
The oldest building of Kyiv is the Golden Gate. Inside is a small museum, but it's mostly the building itself that is interesting as a sight-see object. Most history you can discover near Andriivsky uzviz. It's the oldest street of the city, dotted with tourist shops and paintings. the nearby history museum is worth a visit if you dig it. More original is the 'Museum of one street' on Andriivsky itself. It showcases several caracters that lived here.
Mamaeva Svoboda: Old Cosack town-museum
Pirogovo: Open air museum-park
Golden Gate: Oldest building of Kyiv
Andriivskyi Spusk: Oldest street of the city
More on history can be found in the list of museums.
