The city Nikolaev (in Ukrainian it pronounces as Mykolaiv) is the regional center of the Nikolaev region of Ukraine. It is located in a place of injunction of the rivers Southern Bug and Ingul, in 80 kilometers from the Black sea.
The city has got its name after the victory of Russian armies in 1788; they captured the Turkish fortress Ochakov in day of Saint Nikolay, the patron of seamen.
The first ship that have been built in Nikolaev in 1790, it was the start of shipbuilding - the main "profession" of the city.

There are four districts in Nikolaev:
-the Central'nyi district is located in northwest of the city and includes historical city centre, Raketnoe urochische, Temvod, Solyanye, Severnyi, Ternovka, Matveyevka, Varvarovka.
- the Zavodskoy district is located in the West of city. In this area are many industrials.
- the Lenin district is located in the east it includes Novoe Sadovodstvo, Staryi Vodopoi. In territory of area the zoo, bus and railway stations are located.
- the Korabel'nyi district is located in the south of the city; it includes the Shirokaya Balka, Oktyabr'skiy, Balabanovka, Kul'bakino. Nikolaev has its coat of arms and flag.

The modern city arm is sky-blue field with the gold ship with black oars on it, and with the gold mitre on two gold crosswise staffs over it. The escutcheon is topped with a silver crown and imposed on two gold anchors, tired up by Aleksandrovskaja red ribbon.

The flag of Nikolaev is a white flag with two wavy horizontal strips and coat of arms of Nikolaev on them.

The population of city is multinational. In modern Nikolaev Ukrainians, Russian, Bulgarians, Moldavians, Poles, Czechs, Germans, Tatars, Greeks and others live. Several religion confessions are in Nikolaev. Orthodoxy is the basic faith of Nikolaev. There are also Catholics, Protestants, Lutherans, Baptists, Presbyterians and Jews.

The city is located in a southern part of Ukraine, in dry-steppe zone of Ukraine. The climate of city is influenced by the Black sea that is located nearby. A climate of city is temperate-continental, droughty, steppe, with hot solar summer and with soft winter. The average temperature of January is about ? 4 °C, winter is soft, without a great amount of snow, but with often thaws, changeable, thaws are replaced fall of temperature. Due to influence of the Black sea March and April are rather cold and autumn rather warm. Summer hot, solar, the average temperature of July makes 27 °C, quite often there is a temperature is higher + 40 °C in a shadow. Precipitations are about 300-350 millimeters a year.

In structure of the industry of Nikolaev the basic place is occupied machine-building and metal-working. The industrial of city provide up to 50 % of volumes of production of shipbuilding of Ukraine, over 90 % of the state manufacture of gas turbines, 80 % of alumina.

For today in Nikolaev for trips are trams, trolleybuses, buses and taxis. In city the airport, railway station and bus station operate.

There a lot of different establishments of culture in Nikolaev: theatre-studio, the city cultural center, the Municipal chamber orchestra, a zoo, cinemas, 35 libraries are among them.

The main architectural sights of Nikolaev are a staff of the commander the Black Sea fleet (1793), today it is the Museum of shipbuilding and fleet of Architect Petr Neyelov; The cathedral of Saint Nikolay (1817); the building of Officer's assembly (1824); an observatory of the Black Sea fleet (1821); Yacht - club (1904 The Hyperboloid water tower (1907). It was constructed under Vladimir Shuhova's project. It is one of first Hyperboloid structures in the world.

Also you can visit Nikolaev Region-Study Museum; Museum of Shipbuilding and Fleet; Museum of "Partisan Movement in Nikolaev Region"; Fine - Arts Museum named after V.V.Vereschagin. Or you can enjoy performances in Nikolaev Russian drama theatre, the academic Ukrainian drama theatre and a musical comedy, the state regional puppet show or in the regional philarmonic society. There are a number of cinemas in Nikolaev.

Nikolaev Zoo is the biggest Zoo in Ukraine and it is worth to see because of its big collection of animals. There are several parks in Nikolaev also Pobeda (Victory), Leski, Petrovskogo.

Nikolaev offers to its inhabitants and visitors 5 stadiums, 118 sports halls, 4 swimming pools, 21 tennis court, yacht - club and club of scuba-divers.

Nikolaev - the large center of higher education and a science. There are several universities in Nikolaev. These include the Nikolaev Pedagogical Institute, Admiral Makarov National University of Shipbuilding and Petro Mohyla Nikolaev State University.