The state of Chersonesus, a Greek colony, was founded in the 5th century B.C. (here the first Kiev Prince Vladimir was baptized in the 10th century A.D.). Later it passed into Roman, Byzantine & Genoese control & it was from here, considered to be the birthplace of the Russian Orthodox Church, that the Christian faith began to spread all over Ukraine. The programme includes a visit to the archaeological museum, excavation sites as well as a stop in the centre of Sebastopol to see Admiral Nakhimov Square and the Monument to the Scuttled Warships. Panoramic city tour takes you to Historical blvd., site of a defensive bastion, Prymorskiy blvd. & the Eagle Column on a rock commemorates Russian ships sunk in the harbour mouth in 1854 to stop enemy ships entering. Sevastopol is one of the largest sea ports and a cultural-historical center in the south of the Ukraine. It was chosen as a navy base for the Russian Black Sea Fleet because there are many big and calm bays around the area and is still playing the strategic role in the political life of Ukraine.