International Applicants Karazin University

Ukraine is one of the largest countries in Europe. It has its own original culture, rich traditions and unique nature, its history going back over 1,500 years. The country is located in the south-eastern part of Europe, has a common land border with Belarus in the north, Poland in the west, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldova in the south-west, and Russia in the east. The south of Ukraine is washed by the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.

The national symbols of Ukraine are the State Emblem, the State Flag, the National Anthem, and its folk symbols include a rushnyk (an embroidered or woven towel), a pysanka (an Easter egg decorated with traditional folk designs), a vyshyvanka (an embroidered shirt), which are symbols-charms of the Ukrainian people.

Ukraine is a multinational state and a home to 134 national minorities, Catholic and Protestant churches, a synagogue, a mosque, prayer houses of many other religious denominations, schools with in-depth studies of the national cultures, etc.

Ukrainian cities often host festivals of different cultures (Indian, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, etc.).

Ukraine is not only a major industrial region in Eastern Europe but also a powerful scientific and educational center. Science in Ukraine got a substantial boost in the 19th century, when Kharkiv (1804), Kyiv (1834) and Odesa (1865) universities were founded and became scientific centers of Ukraine, with foreign scholars and scientists involved in teaching there, which brought about the creation of the country’s own high-level scientific schools. The determining factor in the development of Ukrainian science was the establishment of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences (NAS of Ukraine) in 1918 followed by the establishment of a number of scientific institutions within it. Today, there are about 17,337 general educational institutions, 361 higher educational institutions, the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine consisting of 78 research boards, 19 committees, 16 commissions, 24 research societies operating in Ukraine, and its international scientific cooperation is carried out under 122 effective agreements signed by the NAS of Ukraine with academies, state institutions, scientific organizations and educational institutions of almost 50 countries of the world. The scientific achievements of Ukrainians are of global significance: they were the first to create a helicopter (I. Sikorsky), a kerosene lamp (I. Łukasiewicz and J. Zech), the first artificial satellite of the Earth (S. Korolev), a kinescope (J. Timchenko), to perform atomic fission, and much more.

The QS World University Rankings 2022 includes eight Ukrainian higher educational institutions. Many higher educational institutions implement double degree programs, which enables the students to combine the best elements of national and foreign education, as well as programs of academic exchanges, internships, scholarships, etc.

Ukraine has a very powerful and extensive transport infrastructure: there are seven international airports ensuring domestic and international flights in different directions, railway stations and bus stations providing inland and foreign transportation; a marine passenger terminal in Odesa (a large commercial port of international importance and one of the largest passenger terminals in Europe), metro networks (public underground railway transport) operating in three cities, overland transport (trams, trolleybuses, buses, route taxis, taxi services) operating in all cities.

Ukraine is a country rich in history and culture, with each epoch leaving its mark: the architectural ensemble combines Old Russian churches, fortresses and European Renaissance castles, landmarks of Cossack Baroque, Russian and Polish classicism, structures and buildings executed in the style of eclecticism, modernism and constructivism. Some architectural monuments are on the UNESCO World Heritage List: Kyiv Saint Sophia Cathedral and Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, Lviv Historic Center Ensemble, the Struve Geodetic Arc points, the Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians, the Residence of Bukovinian and Dalmatian Metropolitans, the Ancient City of Tauric Chersonese and its Chora, the Wooden Tserkvas (churches) of the Carpathian oblast.

Besides the rich and ancient architecture, Ukraine is famous for its picturesque nature: numerous resorts of the Black and Azov Seas, unique biosphere reserves (Askaniia-Nova in Kherson oblast), marvelous ski centers in the Carpathian Mountains, which have already become world leisure centers (Bukovel, Drahobrat) , parks (Sofiivka National Arboretum in Uman, Oleksandria Arboretum in Bila Tserkva). Other most famous natural attractions of the country are Svitiaz Lake (Volyn oblast) and Synevyr Lake (Zakarpattia oblast), the Valley of Narcissi (Transcarpathian oblast) and the Danube Biosphere Reserve (Odesa oblast).

Ukrainian culture, original and unique, holds a worthy place in the world cultural space. Throughout the long periods of its history, it developed as a folk culture a great part of which belongs to folk traditions complementing it with a special charm and coloring. This is especially evident in art, folk dumas (thoughts), arts and crafts. It was to the preservation and continuation of the traditions that Ukraine owes the rise of Ukrainian culture in the 16th and 17th centuries and the cultural revival in the 19th century. The speakers of the Ukrainian soul were poets and writers T. Shevchenko, I. Franko, Lesya Ukrainka and M. Kotsiubynsky, philosopher H. Skovoroda, the living classic poetess Lina Kostenko, and others. Ukraine is the Motherland of such famous artists as I. Repin, S. Vasylkivsky, A. Kuindzhi, I. Trush, M. Boichuk, and others. 

Each region of Ukraine has its own traditions and rituals. In particular, the architecture and art of western Ukraine are characterized by a significant Polish and Austrian influence; the rituals and everyday life of Hutsuls, Lemkos, Boykos, and other ethnic groups have a special coloring to them. Each ethnic group has its own melody, its manner of rite, its embroidery technique. A special place in the life of Ukrainians, regardless of their location, belongs to such holidays as New Year, Christmas, Easter, Masnytsia (Maslenitsa, or Crepe Week). These are the days when all the national traditions of Ukraine are especially respected.