Independence Day in Ukraine

People all across UKRAINE are celebrating their country's Independence Day today. This large country in Eastern Europe achieved independence from USSR (the Soviet Union) in 1991. Happy Independence Day!

National Geographic Bee Prep — Black Sea

Name at least two countries that directly border the Black Sea in Eastern Europe.




All possible answers are listed below!



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Possible answers:

BULGARIA
GEORGIA
ROMANIA
RUSSIA
TURKEY
UKRAINE

(MOLDOVA does not quite border the Black Sea, although it does have access to the Black Sea via a port along the Danube River.)

Struve Geodetic Arc

What is the Struve Geodetic Arc, a UNESCO World Heritage Site spanning across the countries of BELARUS, ESTONIA, FINLAND, LATVIA, LITHUANIA, MOLDOVA, NORWAY, RUSSIA, SWEDEN, and UKRAINE? The UNESCO World Heritage Site webpage (↗) provides an interactive map and description:

The Struve Arc is a chain of survey triangulations stretching from Hammerfest in Norway to the Black Sea, through 10 countries and over 2,820 km. These are points of a survey, carried out between 1816 and 1855 by the astronomer Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve, which represented the first accurate measuring of a long segment of a meridian. This helped to establish the exact size and shape of the planet and marked an important step in the development of earth sciences and topographic mapping. It is an extraordinary example of scientific collaboration among scientists from different countries, and of collaboration between monarchs for a scientific cause. The original arc consisted of 258 main triangles with 265 main station points. The listed site includes 34 of the original station points, with different markings, i.e. a drilled hole in rock, iron cross, cairns, or built obelisks.

Surveyors from around the world and other people involved in geodesy and geography might consider adding a [probably expensive] trip through Eastern Europe onto their travel "Bucket List"! The UNESCO description is available under license Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Intergovernmental Organization 3.0 license (↗).

Ukraine Exports

According to National Geographic MapMaker (mapmaker.nationalgeographic.org) and MIT's Observatory of Economic Complexity (atlas.media.mit.edu), the following items are major exports of UKRAINE: air and liquid pumps, aircraft, automobiles, baked goods, ball bearings, bran, cargo and passenger ships, chemicals, chocolate, clay, coal, coats and suits, concentrated milk and other dairy products, confectionery sugar, corn (maize), eggs, electric equipment (heaters, motors, transformers, etc.), electricity to neighboring countries, equipment and machinery, fertilizer, footwear, frozen fruit and nuts, fruit juice, gas and steam turbines, glass bottles, grain (especially barley and wheat), gravel, honey, insulated wire, iron and steel products, iron ore, kaolin, low-voltage protection equipment, malt extract, natural gas, nickel, packaged food, paper products (especially wallpaper), petroleum and petroleum products, pharmaceuticals, plastic sheeting, poultry meat, refined copper, soybeans, sugar beets, sunflower seeds and other oilseeds, telephones, televisions, titanium, tobacco, transmissions, transportation parts, vegetable residues for animal feed, and wood.

According to February 2017 statistics from the International Monetary Fund (data.imf.org), countries and territories buying and importing most of those exports include India (top importer), Russia, Egypt, Turkey, China, Italy, Poland, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, Iran, Hungary, the United States, Belarus, Romania, Israel, Czech Republic, Algeria, Iraq, and Austria.

Ukraine Endangered Species

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ for UKRAINE in Eastern Europe lists 4 extinct species, 13 critically endangered species, and 22 endangered species. Ukraine's thirteen critically endangered species are the Andrena labiatula mining bee, Betula klokovii tree, Cobitis taurica loach fish, European Eel, European Mink, Gobio delyamurei fish, Great Sturgeon, Lepidium turczaninowii plant, Proterorhinus tataricus fish, Russian Sturgeon, Saiga antelope, Slender-Billed Curlew, and Star Sturgeon. Common Aldrovanda waterwheel plants, Edge Flowered Crested Wheatgrass, Egyptian Eagles, Goldstreifiger beetles, Huchen fish, Kerch Wheatgrass, Mongolian Wild Horses, Polish Scurvy Grass, Pseudochazara euxina butterflies, Saker Falcons, Sandy Mole Rats, Steppe Eagles, Thick-Shelled River Mussels, and White-Headed Ducks are examples of endangered organisms in Ukraine.

Sea of Azov

Located southeast of UKRAINE, the Sea of Azov is a body of water attached to the larger Black Sea thanks to the Kerchenskiy (Kerch) Strait. Being the most shallow sea in the world with a maximum depth under 50 feet, this sea is north of the Black Sea, northeast of the Crimean Peninsula, and west of southwestern RUSSIA. Ukrainian cities surrounding the Sea of Azov include Berdyans'k, Mariupol', Novoazovs'k, and Prymors'k; Russian cities near the coastline include Azov, Rostov-na-Donu (has population greater than 1 million), Starominskaya, Taganrog, and Yeysk.

GeoFact of the Day | D.V.

Dniprodzerzhyns'ke Vodoskhovyshche (Reservoir), is a tongue-twister-named, manmade reservoir located in central UKRAINE, a country in eastern Europe! The reservoir is located along the Dnieper river and was created in the middle 1960s. Bordering towns and cities, which have interesting names as well, include Dniprodzerzhyns'k (the reservoir was named after this city), Komsomol's'k, Kremenchuk, and Verkn'odniprovs'k. Now you know about the Dniprodzerzhyns'ke Vodoskhovyshche reservoir!

Ukraine

UKRAINE is a former-Soviet country located in Eastern Europe, bordering 7 countries: Belarus, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, and Slovakia. The country also borders the Black Sea. Jutting out into the Black Sea, the Crimean Peninsula separates the Sea of Azov — a mostly enclosed water feature to the east — from the larger Black Sea. According to Encyclopædia Britannica, Ukraine’s population in the year 2020 was about 44,237,000 and was ranked 31st among populations of the whole world’s countries, dependencies, and territories. The capital and most-populated city is Kiev (Kyïv or Kyyiv). The currency is the Hryvnia, and its ISO 4217 currency code is UAH.

Crimea Annexation and Dispute
After Russia militarily took over the Crimea peninsula and autonomous republic starting in February 2014, the Autonomous Republic of Crimea's government instituted a March 2014 referendum to find out if Crimean residents wanted to still live in Ukraine or have Crimea secede to Russia. Allegedly, most Crimeans voted for Russia to proceed with annexation of their territory. Due to Russia's military presence in Crimea, various officials and international-relations scholars argue that the referendum was biased and/or pressured Crimeans to vote to secede to prevent an escalation of Russian force. A United Nations' General Assembly resolution in March 2014 declared the Crimean referendum and Russia's annexation as non-legitimate, thereby supporting Crimea remaining as a Ukrainian territory. A majority of UN member states — 100 out of 193 — approved the UN resolution, while 58 abstained from voting. Meanwhile, Eleven member states voted against this resolution — these countries are Armenia, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Nicaragua, North Korea, Russia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe.