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With his Bradshaw's 1913 Continental Railway Guide in hand, Michael Portillo ventures east to a land which a century ago was part of the Russian Empire and today is the independent state of Ukraine. His rail journey takes him from the grasslands of the Steppe to the shores of the Black Sea.

Beginning in the capital, Kiev, Michael explores the city described in his century-old Bradshaw as the 'Jerusalem of Russia'. At Kiev's beautiful St Sophia Cathedral, Michael seeks to understand the history behind Ukraine's current conflict with its vast neighbour and discovers how Ukraine adopted Orthodox Christianity. He encounters mummified monks in a medieval monastery and works out alongside two of the strongest women in the world. Outside the city he crosses swords with Cossack warriors and gains an insight into Ukrainians' national identity. Boarding the fast train to Lviv, Michael reads in his Bradshaw that the city was formerly known as Lemberg and at the time of his guidebook it was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Among its cobbled streets and classical buildings Michael discovers the seeds of Ukrainian nationalism in song.