Ukraine Study Service

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the east, Belarus to the north, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary to the west, Romania and Moldova to the southwest, and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south. The city of Kiev (Kyiv) is both the capital and the largest city of Ukraine.

The nation's history began with that of the East Slavs. From at least the 9th century, the territory of Ukraine was a center of the medieval Varangian-dominated East Slavic civilisation, forming the state of Kievan Rus' which disintegrated in the 12th century. From the 14th century on, the territory of Ukraine was divided among a number of regional powers, and by the 19th century, the largest part of Ukraine was integrated into the Russian Empire, with the rest under Austro-Hungarian control. After a chaotic period of incessant warfare and several attempts at independence (1917-21) following World War I and the Russian civil war, Ukraine emerged in 1922 as one of the founding republics of the Soviet Union. The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic's territory was enlarged westward shortly before and after World War II, and again in 1954 with the Crimea transfer. In 1945, the Ukrainian SSR became one of the co-founding members of the United Nations. Ukraine became independent again after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. This began a period of transition to a market economy, in which Ukraine was stricken with eight straight years of economic decline. Since then, the economy has been experiencing a stable increase, with real GDP growth averaging seven percent annually.

Ukraine is a unitary state composed of 24 oblasts (provinces), one autonomous republic (Crimea), and two cities with special status: Kiev, its capital, and Sevastopol, which houses the Russian Black Sea Fleet under a leasing agreement. Ukraine is a republic under a semi-presidential system with separate legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Since the collapse of the USSR, Ukraine continues to maintain the second largest military in Europe, after that of Russia. The country is home to 46.4 million people, 77.8 percent of whom are ethnic Ukrainians, with sizable minorities of Russians, Belarusians and Romanians. The Ukrainian language is the only official language in Ukraine, while Russian is also widely spoken and is known to most Ukrainians as a second language. The dominant religion in the country in Eastern Orthodox Christianity, which has heavily influenced Ukrainian architecture, literature and music.

Present-day Ukraine is ruled by the Scythians since the seventh century BC. More and more parts of the are get under control of foreign powers, and in the third century the area is ruled by the Goths. They are driven out by the Huns in the fourth century. Slavic tribes occupy central and eastern Ukraine in the sixth century and play an important role in the establishment of Kiev. Situated on lucrative trade routes, Kiev quickly prospers as the center of the powerful state of Rus' (Kievan Rus'). In the 11th century, Kievan Rus is, geographically, the largest state in Europe. Kievan Rus Prince Volodymyr converts the Kievan nobility and most of the population to Christianity in 988. Conflict among the feudal lords led to decline in the 12th century and many small feudal Russian states are formed. Halich-Volynia is the main states in the Ukraine.

In 1239 the Mongols capture large parts of the area and the Ukraine becomes part of Khanate of the Golden Horde, a Mongolian state. The northern parts of the area become part of Poland and Lithuania around 1350 and the southern part is ruled by the Tatars since 1430. The latter part becomes part of the Ottoman Empire. The free (non-Polish or Lithuanian) parts of the country merge into Russia in the period between 1654 and 1667. After the divisions of Poland between 1772 and 1795 the whole of Ukraine, except for the extreme west (under Austrian rule), is part of Russia. In the nineteenth century Russia bans the use and study of the Ukrainian language.

When World War I and the Russian revolution shattered the Austrian and Russian empires, Ukraine is declared independent statehood. In 1917 the Central Rada proclaimed Ukrainian autonomy as the Ukrainian Democratic Republic and in 1918, following the Bolshevik seizure of power in Petrograd, the Ukrainian National Republic declared independence under President Mychailo Hrushevski as the Ukrainian People's Republic. Hrušhevski is the leader of the Ukrainian Socialist Revolutionary Party. The country is occupied by Russia in 1918, followed by a German and Austro-Hungarian occupation later that year. The Ukrainian People's Republic is resored in 1918. From 1919 until 1921 the country is led by Simon Petljura, also of the USRP. After three years of conflict and civil war, however, the western part of Ukrainian territory is incorporated into Poland, while the larger, central and eastern regions get under communist rule: The non-Polish parts of Ukraine are absorbed in 1921 by the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, that joins the USSR in 1922 as a founding union member. Petljura is assissated in exile in 1926.

With Stalin's rise to power and the campaign for collectivization, the Soviet leadership impose a campaign of terror that ravage the intellectual class. Stalin also creates an artificial famine (called the Holodomor in Ukrainian) as part of his forced collectivization policies, which kill millions of previously independent peasants and others throughout the country. Estimates of deaths from the 1932-33 famine alone range from 3 million to 7 million.

After the Nazi and Soviet invasions of Poland in 1939, the western Ukrainian regions are incorporated into the USSR. Ukraine is occupied by Germany between 1941 and 1944. Armed resistance against Soviet authority continues as late as the 1950s. Ukraine became an independent state in 1991. Following free elections held in 1991, Leonid M. Kravchuk, former chairman of the Ukrainian Rada, is elected president for a five-year term. Ethnic tensions in Crimea during 1992 prompt a number of pro-Russian political organizations to advocate secession of Crimea and annexation to Russia. Later that year the Crimean and Ukrainian parliaments determine that Crimea would remain under Ukrainian jurisdiction while retaining significant cultural and economic autonomy.

In 1994 Leonid Kucma is elected as Ukraine's second president in free and fair elections. Kucma is reelected in 1999 to another five-year term, with 56 percent of the vote.