Kharkiv is the second largest city in Ukraine. It was the first capital of Soviet Ukraine, now the administrative center of the Kharkiv Oblast (province), as well as the administrative center of the surrounding Kharkivskyi Raion (district) within the oblast. The city is located in the northeast of the country. As of 2006, its population is 1,461,300.
Kharkiv is a major cultural, scientific, educational, transport and industrial centre of Ukraine. Its industry specializes mostly in machinery. There are hundreds of industrial companies in the city. Among them are world famous giants like the Morozov Design Bureau and the Malyshev Tank Factory, leaders in tank production since the 1930s; Hartron (aerospace and nuclear electronics); and the Turboatom turbines producer.
There is an underground rapid-transit system (metro) with about 35 km of track and 28 stations. A well-known landmark of Kharkiv is the Freedom Square (Ploshchad Svobody), which is currently the third largest city square in Europe, and the 7th largest square in the world. |
