Industry in Kyiv
Kyiv has historically been a commercially oriented city.
Because of it's location along the Dnipro Kyiv has always served as a commercial
hub between differnt trading routes and cultures. The building pictured
to the right is the Bessarby Market in central Kyiv. This shopping center
has changed considerably since the fall of the U.S.S.R. The billboards decorating
the outside of the structure would not have been permitted under Soviet
control. Now, however, advertising in public spaces is a thriving industry.
Due to disorganization and corruption in the government standards like zoning
laws are not enforced, allowing any one to go into business as a renter
of advertising space.
The focus of industry in Kyiv is surprisingly high-tech for a former
Soviet Republic. Ukraine served many purposes for the Soviet military, housing
military installations, as well as serving as a center of Research and development.
The University of Kyiv has departments in nuclear physics, computer science,
and cybernetics. The level of education in Kyiv is generally high although
this is not true for rural Ukraine. Money and power is centered in the large
cities of Ukraine, while the rural areas suffer from a variety of economic
problems.