Kyiv vs Johannesburg

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Kyiv or Kiev (Ukrainian: Київ) is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. Its population in July 2015 has been 2,887,974 (though greater estimated numbers have been cited in the media ), making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe.Kyiv is an important industrial, scientific, educational and cultural center of Eastern Europe. It is home to many high-tech businesses, higher education institutions, and historical landmarks. The town has an extensive system of public transport and infrastructure, including the Kyiv Metro. The city's name is said to derive from the name of Kyi, one of its four legendary creators. During its history, Kyiv, one of the oldest cities in Eastern Europe, passed through several phases of prominence and obscurity. The city probably existed as a commercial centre as early as the 5th century. A Slavic settlement on the wonderful trade route between Scandinavia and Constantinople, Kyiv was a tributary of the Khazars, until its capture by the Varangians (Vikings) in the mid-9th century. Under Varangian rule, the town became a capital of the Kievan Rus', the first East Slavic state. Completely destroyed during the Mongol invasions in 1240, the city lost most of its influence for the centuries to come. It was a provincial capital of marginal value in the outskirts of the lands controlled by its powerful neighbours, first Lithuania, then Poland and Russia.

The city prospered again during the Russian Empire's Industrial Revolution in the late 19th century. In 1918, following the Ukrainian People's Republic declared independence from Soviet Russia, Kyiv became its capital. From 1921 onwards Kyiv was a town of Soviet Ukraine, which was proclaimed by the Red Army, and, from 1934, Kyiv was its capital. The town was almost completely ruined during World War II but quickly recovered from the postwar years, remaining Soviet Union's third-largest city. After the collapse of the Soviet Union and Ukrainian independence in 1991, Kyiv remained Ukraine's capital and experienced a steady influx of cultural migrants from different regions of the country. During the country's transformation into a market economy and electoral democracy, Kyiv has continued to be Ukraine's biggest and wealthiest city. Its armament-dependent industrial output fell after the Soviet collapse, adversely affecting science and technology, but new sectors of the economy such as services and finance facilitated Kyiv's increase in salaries and investment, as well as providing continuous funding for the development of housing and urban infrastructure. Kyiv emerged as the most pro-Western area of Ukraine; parties advocating tighter integration with the European Union dominate during elections.

Source: Wikipedia

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Johannesburg ( joh-HAN-iss-burg, also US: -⁠HAHN-; Afrikaans: [juəˈɦanəsbœrχ]; Zulu and Xhosa: eGoli, Tswana and Sotho: Gauteng), informally known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 50 largest urban areas in the world. It is the provincial capital and largest city of Gauteng, which is the wealthiest province in South Africa. Johannesburg is the seat of the Constitutional Court, the highest court in South Africa. Most of the major South African companies and banks have their head offices in Johannesburg. The city is located in the mineral-rich Witwatersrand range of hills and is the centre of large-scale gold and diamond trade. It was one of the host cities of the official tournament of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The metropolis is an alpha global city as listed by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. In 2019, the population of the city of Johannesburg was 5,635,127, making it the most populous city in South Africa. In the same year, the population of Johannesburg's urban agglomeration was put at 8,000,000.

land area of the municipal city (1,645 km2 or 635 sq mi) is large in comparison with those of other major cities, resulting in a moderate population density of 2,364 per square kilometre (6,120/sq mi). The city was established in 1886 following the discovery of gold on what had been a farm. Due to the extremely large gold deposit found along the Witwatersrand, within ten years, the population had grown to 100,000 inhabitants. A separate city from the late 1970s until 1994, Soweto is now part of Johannesburg. Originally an acronym for "South-Western Townships", Soweto originated as a collection of settlements on the outskirts of Johannesburg, populated mostly by native African workers from the gold mining industry. Soweto, although eventually incorporated into Johannesburg, had been separated as a residential area for Blacks, who were not permitted to live in Johannesburg-Proper. Lenasia is predominantly populated by English-speaking South Africans of Indian descent. These areas were designated as non-white areas in accordance with the segregationist policies of the South African government known as Apartheid.

Source: Wikipedia