Located in the eastern Ukraine on the western edge of the Central Asian Steppes, the city of Kharkov is of strategic historic importance as it is conveniently located between Europe and Asia. While modern Kharkov was only founded in 1654 as a fortress city on the border to the Russian empire, archeological findings suggest the area of present day Kharkov existed since the second millennium B.C. Today, Kharkov is the second largest city in the Ukraine and itÕs metropolitan region comprises of approximately 1.5 million people. Situated on the worldÕs most fertile soils with a perfect climate for agricultural production, Kharkov was once known as the breadbasket for the entire Soviet Union. However, since the collapse of the communist government in 1989 and the termination of the Soviet Union two years later, Kharkov and many other cities of that region, have undergone major transformations, both culturally and economically.