Kharkiv

Introducing Kharkiv

If Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhya are the strong-arm muscle of Ukrainian industry, then the more northerly city of Kharkiv is its nerve centre and brain. It’s a leafy university town that makes the unusual boast of being the birthplace of the Soviet nuclear industry. And it combines vast, agoraphobia-inducing plazas – particularly its unforgettably enormous pl Svobody – with charming early-20th-century buildings on more compact streets. With more than 100, 000 enrolled at the university, including many foreign students, there’s a distinct multicultural feel to Kharkiv’s lively streets. The city empties during summer, so visit at other times to get a proper feel for the place.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009