Ukraine

The National Opera House of Ukraine in Kyiv is named after Taras Shevchenko, Ukraine's most famous poet and artist. His bust sits in an alcove over the entranceway.

The Church of the Nativity was one of three Neoclassical churches in the Podil area of Kyiv that was destroyed by the Soviet Government in the 1930s. Originally constructed between 1809 and 1814, it was chiefly remembered as the church where the body of Taras Shevchenko, Ukraine's national bard, lay in state in 1861 while on its way to its final resting place in Kaniv. Torn down in 1935, the church was rebuilt in 2005.

The Verkhovna Rada (Supreme Council) building in Kyiv is home to Ukraine's 450-member parliament.

The Baroque Saint Andrew's Church in the Podil neighborhood of Kyiv was designed by the famous architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli and constructed between 1747 and 1754. It is reputed to stand on the site where in the first century A.D. Saint Andrew planted a cross and prophesied that a great Christian city would one day rise.

Approaching the Mariinsky Palace in Kyiv, the official ceremonial residence of the president of Ukraine. The palace is one of two magnificent Baroque buildings in Ukraine designed by the renowned architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli (the other is Saint Andrew's Church, in Kyiv).

From mainland Ukraine, the Crimean Peninsula extends southward, bordered on the west by the Black Sea and on the east by the Sea of Azov. Stretching across the peninsula is a network of shallow, marshy inlets sprawling over roughly 2,600 sq km (1,000 sq mi). This network of lagoons is known as Syvash (also Sivash or Sivas). During the summer months, the warmed marsh waters give off unpleasant odors, lending the region the nicknames of "Rotten Sea" or "Putrid Sea." This natural-color satellite image shows the shallow waters and varied chemical composition of the Syvash lagoons contribute to their unearthly colors of peach, mustard, lime green, blue, blue-green, beige, and brown. Thick layers of silt coat the bottoms of the shallow marshes, which are rich enough in mineral salts to supply a local chemical plant. Surrounding the marshy areas are mostly agricultural fields. Urbanized areas appear along the shores of the Black Sea, and highways curve and zigzag across the peninsula. Outside of the marshes, the land in this area is generally a level plain of arid steppe. In colder months, frosts alternate with thaws, and fogs are frequent. Photo courtesy of NASA.