The word Chornozem, meaning 'black earth'" has become internationally recognised and refers to Ukrainian soil, celebrated as the most fertile possible.

Byzantine emperor Constantine VII, way back in the 10th century wrote, "The best soil is Chornozem. It is not afraid of rain or drought." Even the French writer Balzak, after visiting Ukraine, praised these lands in his writings. Ukraine's rich soil was probably one of the reasons why the first agricultural civilizations in Europe emerged and developed here in the 5-4th centuries B.C.