Kiev is the capital and largest city of Ukraine with - officially - over 2.7 million inhabitants The city is in north central Ukraine on the Dnipro (Dniepr) river. Ukrainians are understandably very proud of their capital's role in establishing European civilisation in Eastern Europe.

Kiev is one of the oldest cities in Eastern Europe, its official history dating back to the 5th century, although settlement on this location was present since much earlier. By late 9th century Kiev became the chef-lieu of the emerging state of the Eastern Slavic tribes, and between the 10th and early 13th century, it reached its golden age as the capital of the first Ukrainian state known today as Kievan Rus, (Kyivan Ruthenia, or Rus-Ukraine), which predated modern Ukraine, Belarus and Russia.

Source: Wikitravel