Before the Orange Revolution, Kafkaesque bureaucracy meant that most foreign workers in Ukraine had jobs with foreign multinationals or joint-venture corporations, or were government workers. Volunteers for the US Peace Corps and Soros Foundation have a long history with the country, as do religious missionaries.
However, in the past few years, adventurous entrepreneurs and English teachers have been seeking work independently in Ukraine. It’s not always an easy process, as to get a work permit you have to show that a Ukrainian could not do the job you’re being hired for. However, a little persistence will usually pay off.
Business hours
Official weekday working hours are 9am to 5pm or 10am to 6pm. Some banks close for the day at 4.30pm. Bigger shops, especially in Kyiv, tend to stay open later, until 8pm or 9pm (Sunday closing is increasingly rare).
Most restaurants around the country are open from at least noon to 11pm, and times are not listed for individual eateries in this book unless they significantly diverge from these (where no times are listed for a restaurant, you can be sure they are open for at least lunch and dinner). Some cafeteria-style eateries and cafés open earlier, at 8am or 9am, and close at 6pm or 7pm.
Many places, especially government-run establishments, still close for lunch (1pm to 2pm or 2pm to 3pm). However, this is becoming slightly less common, especially in bigger cities.
Museum hours are typically from 9am to 5pm or 6pm, but they vary, and there are always one or two days a week when museums are closed. Occasionally, they close for cleaning sometime during the last week of each month, but this is very rare these days.
