Opera Hotel Kyiv

The Opera Hotel was Kyiv’s first five star boutique hotel which opened on December, 20th, 2006 It is situated in the heart of the city.

It is ideally located for all that Kyiv has to offer. In March, 2007 the hotel became a member of “The Leading Hotels of the World” an organization synonymous with luxury, elegance, class, and impeccable standards of service world wide.

Originally built in 1908 Opera Hotel is an elegant building that typifies the architectural heritage of Kyiv. Opera hotel is ideally located close the business district and historical attractions such as the Opera House and Vladimir Cathedral. It is therefore the ideal choice for the leisure and business traveller.

Apartment Rental Kiev

Opera hotel offers 137 rooms and suites of delightful style, comfort and grace. Our suites vary in size and each has a separate theme based on concepts from around the world.

Hotel Website: Opera-Hotel.com

Kiev Spy Welcomes NATO’s Moscow Overture

KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine’s top spy has welcomed NATO’s decision last week to resume high-level ties with Russia, suspended after Moscow’s military standoff with Georgia last year.

SBU head Valentyn Nalyvaichenko
In a Financial Times interview, Valentyn Nalyvaichenko, head of Ukraine’s SBU [formerly known as the KGB] state security service, said Kiev also sought better relations with Russia, but would continue to crack down on “Russian politicians” who interfered in the country’s domestic politics.

“Good relations are when a neighbour does not stretch across the fence into your yard,” he said, referring to Russian support for pro-Russia political groups in Ukraine, including separatists on the Crimean peninsula, home to Russia’s Black Sea fleet.

Mr Nalyvaichenko insisted his own service was apolitical as he defended its recent raid on a state-owned energy company involved in the power struggle between President Viktor Yushchenko and the prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko.

The former diplomat, who was put in charge of the SBU three years ago by Mr Yushchenko, also argued that Ukraine had made big gains in democracy since the 2004 Orange Revolution, despite its continuing economic and political upheavals. “The risks are now more economic in nature,” he said referring to the financial crisis, which has driven Kiev to take an emergency loan from the International Monetary Fund.

Kiev, an aspiring NATO member and rare Western ally on post-Soviet turf, strongly backed Georgia in the war, sparking fears of potential conflict between Moscow and Kiev in Crimea. Some nationalist Russian politicians openly want Moscow to annex the peninsula but late last year Vladimir Putin, the Russian prime minister, said publicly it was Ukrainian territory.

Moscow is also much involved in Ukraine’s politicised and lucrative energy sector. Fears resurfaced last week that Russian natural gas supplies via Ukraine to Europe could be cut off again after SBU guards raided state gas company Naftogaz, controlled by Ms Tymoshenko. The raid marked an escalation of tensions between the two leaders after they buried their differences to secure financial support from the IMF.

Mr Nalyvaichenko claimed that Naftogaz, on the orders of the government, had illegally stripped away ownership of more than $2bn worth of gas from Rosukrenergo, a gas trading intermediary, owned jointly by Russia’s Gazprom and Ukrainian businessman Dmytro Firtash.

Deputy SBU chief and billionaire Valery Khoroshkovsky headed the investigation despite admitting to joint interests in television channels with Mr Firtash, Gazprom’s partner in Rosukrenergo. Mr Nalyvaichenko ruled out a conflict of interest, but said another official would take charge of the investigation.

Mr Nalyvaichenko disputed allegations by Ms Tymoshenko that Ukraine’s president had lobbied on behalf of Rosukrenergo for it to regain the disputed gas supplies at the centre of last week’s raids.

He said he had offered to provide proof of Mr Yushchenko’s innocence to Russia’s Accounting Chamber, a public audit office, which was investigating Rosukrenergo’s Ukrainian shareholders.

Since then, Mr Khoroshkovsky appeared on his own TV channel to warn that the security services could next target government offices in a continued quest for documents to prove that gas was illegally transferred from Rosukrenergo to Naftogaz.

The west has repeatedly raised concerns about Rosukrenergo’s lack of transparency, not least because the intermediary has featured in the disputes between Kiev and Moscow that have periodically cut off energy supplies to the rest of Europe.

Mr Nalyvaichenko stressed however that the body was established by leaders in Ukraine and Russia before Mr Yushchenko became president. Gazprom has not publicly backed Rosukrenergo and Mr Putin described last week’s gas dispute as a “domestic” Ukrainian affair.

Source: Financial Times

Apartment Kiev

Kiev museums in the World of History

National History Museum of Ukraine

• 2 Volodymyrska St. (Closed on Wednesdays)

The Museum sits on the Starokyivska Hill where you can still find remains of Old Rus constructions dating back to the 10th-13th centuries. The Museum boasts some of the ancient discoveries of primeval cultures such as the Trypillya peoples, the Scythians, and the early Slavs.

Kyiv History Museum

• 8 Pylyp Orlyk St.

The Museum is located at Klovskyi Palace (18th c.). There you can find archeological, numismatic, and ethnographic exhibits telling the story of Kyiv from the first settlements till October Revolution of 1917.

National Literature Museum of Ukraine

• 11 Bohdan Khmelnytskyi St.

The Collection keeps over 30,000 authentic items and records. This unique exhibit includes such treasures as the hand-written Listvytsya by Ioann Sinayskyi (16th c.) and the first printed book Apostle by Ivan Fedorov.

National Historic Jewelry Museum of Ukraine

• 21 Ivan Mazepa St. (Kyiv Pechersk Lavra)

Here you can learn many interesting things about the three thousand year plus history of jewelry art. The gem of the collection is the Golden Scythian Pectoral (4th c. BC), which is a masterpiece of international significance.

National World War II Museum (1941-1945)

• 44 Ivan Mazepa St.

A huge memorial complex comprises the Museum, graced by the gargantuan statue of the Motherland (62m high), and includes sculptural compositions showing heroes of the war, the Fire of Glory Cup, the Alley of Hero Cities, and the exhibition of World War II military weapons and equipment.

Pyrohovo National Folk Architecture Museum

• Pyrohovo Village at South of Kyiv

This open-air museum displays more than 150 wooden constructions representing different eras and brought from all regions of Ukraine. The museum is a popular site for various folk festivals.

National Chernobyl Museum

• 1 Khoryv Provulok (Lane)

The museum exhibition tries to explain one of the most tragic nuclear disasters in the world that occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in 1986. Over 7,000 exhibits include declassified records, maps, and photos. Documentary videos show in detail the horrible accident and its consequences on the population.

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