After hundreds of years under foreign rule, Ukraine finally became an independent nation in 1991. Since then the country has embraced its traditional language and artistic heritage. Because of economic problems in the years after independence, however, Ukraine is one of the poorest nations in Europe. The capital is Kiev. GeographyUkraine is the largest country entirely within Europe, with an area of about 233,100 square miles (603,700 square kilometers). (Russia is much larger, but part of it is in Europe and part is in Asia.) Ukraine borders Moldova and Romania to the southwest. To the west are Hungary, Slovakia, and Poland. Belarus and Russia form the northern border, and Russia is also to the east. The Black Sea and the Sea of Azov lie to the south. - The Dnieper River flows past Kiev, Ukraine.
Ukraine is made up almost entirely of flat plains. The grassland that covers the central and southern parts of the country is known as the steppe. The Ukrainian steppe is famous for its black soils, called chernozems. They have made the country one of the most productive farming regions in Europe. In northern Ukraine are the Pripet Marshes, a large area of waterlogged land that extends into Belarus and is the largest swamp in Europe. The only mountains in Ukraine are the Carpathians in the west and the Crimean Mountains on the Crimean Peninsula, a large piece of land that extends into the Black Sea. Ukraine's longest river by far is the Dnieper, which flows past Kiev on its way to the Black Sea. Most of Ukraine has a temperate climate with warm summers and cold winters. The eastern part of the country generally has warmer summers and colder winters than the west. Precipitation (rain and snow) is generally light, with most coming in the warmer months. Plants and animalsUkraine is not a heavily forested country. Most of its forests are in the Carpathian Mountains in the west. The north has stands of oak, elm, birch, ash, maple, linden, willow, and beech among the swamplands. In central Ukraine the grassland is mixed with some areas of forest, but the south is mostly treeless. The country's wildlife includes deer, elk, wolves, bears, foxes, wildcats, marten, boar, beavers, weasels, and badgers. Among the many kinds of birds found in Ukraine are the black and hazel grouse, owl, gull, and partridge. Ukraine maintains several nature reserves in an effort to protect the country's plant and animal life. The Askaniya-Nova reserve protects the natural vegetation of the steppe. Dozens of different animals have been introduced into the reserve as part of a successful program of protecting endangered species. Among them are the ostrich and the wild ass called the onager. People and cultureAlmost two thirds of Ukraine's people are ethnic Ukrainians. Most of the rest are Russians. Other groups, each very small, include Moldovans, Tatars, and Belarusians. Ukrainian is the official language. Russian, a closely related language, is also widely spoken. For most of the 20th century Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union, and during that time the practice of religion was discouraged. As a result, more than half of the population does not belong to any religious group. Most of the rest of the people belong to the branch of Christianity known as Eastern Orthodoxy. Ukraine was once home to many Jewish people, but Jews now make up less than 1 percent of the population. More than two thirds of Ukraine's people live in cities or towns. The largest city is Kiev, which has a population of more than 2.6 million people. It is famous for the onion-shaped domes atop its many churches. Other cities with more than 1 million residents include Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, and Odessa. All are in the eastern half of the country. Traditional folk culture remains an important part of life in Ukraine. Ukrainians are known for their weaving, woodwork, and ceramics. Detailed decoration of Easter eggs is another well-known Ukrainian folk art. Ukraine also has a rich tradition of folk stories, songs, and dances. This folk culture influenced the writings of the famous 19th-century Ukrainian-born writer Nikolai Gogol. EconomyUkraine has fertile farmland, rich mineral resources, and many industries. Nevertheless, it is still a poor country. For seven decades Ukraine's economy was the most important part of the larger economy of the Soviet Union. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine entered a period of severe economic decline. By the start of the 21st century the economy had begun to improve, but many people still lived in poverty. The Ukrainian economy depends largely on agriculture and industry. About 20 percent of Ukrainians work in farming, and food is one of the country's main exports. Potatoes, sugar beets, wheat, barley, corn (maize), rye, and oats are among the most important crops grown in Ukraine. Many cattle, pigs, sheep, and goats are kept as livestock. The Soviets began many industries in Ukraine, and manufacturing and mining are still important to the country. Ukraine's mineral resources include manganese, coal, iron ore, titanium, mercury, potassium, salt, and sulfur. The country's factories produce iron and steel, locomotives, tractors, fuels, and chemicals. A negative result of the rapid development of industry in Ukraine under Soviet rule was serious damage to the environment. The Soviets did little to control the pollution that their factories released into the air, water, and soil. Ukraine suffered one of the world's worst environmental disasters in 1986, when an explosion occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant near Kiev. The explosion spread harmful radioactive material over a large area, endangering the health of many people. (See also nuclear energy.) HistoryKievan RusA number of different peoples invaded and occupied parts of what is now Ukraine during the 1st millennium BC and the 1st millennium AD. The most important group was the Slavs. They first arrived in the western and north-central parts of the region in about the 5th and 6th centuries AD. They had migrated there from their homeland north of the Carpathian Mountains. The Slavs set up trade routes along the country's many waterways. They established one of their earliest settlements at Kiev on the Dnieper River. Viking invaders called Varangians took control of trade along the river. The Varangians mixed with the Slavs and established a state that was ruled from Kiev. Ukraine and neighboring Russia both trace their beginnings to this kingdom, which was called Kievan Rus. By the end of the 10th century Kievan Rus covered an area much larger than present-day Ukraine. In 988 the Kievan ruler Vladimir I made Christianity the religion of the kingdom. Kievan Rus reached the height of its power in the first half of the 11th century. Soon, however, it began to decline. In the 1220s Mongol invaders under Genghis Khan entered Kievan Rus from Central Asia. In 1240 they destroyed Kiev. Ukraine would not be unified and independent again for more than 750 years. Poles and CossacksIn the 14th century most of Ukraine came under the control of Lithuania. A small area was controlled by Poland. In 1569 Poland and Lithuania joined together to form the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. At this time, rule over most of Ukraine was transferred from Lithuania to Poland. Ukrainians soon grew angry with Polish rule. The Poles made Ukrainian peasants into serfs, or farmers who were forced to work land that was owned by a lord. The peasants especially disliked their Polish lords because of religious differences. The Ukrainians were Eastern Orthodox Christians, and the Polish were Roman Catholics. Peasants fleeing from serfdom under Polish rule joined a military force known as the Cossacks. This group of warriors had begun to band together in southern Ukraine in the 15th century. In the 17th century the Cossacks took the side of the Eastern Orthodox church, which put them at odds with Poland. In 1648 the Cossacks led a mass uprising against Polish rule. Needing support during the fight, they turned to Russia. The Cossacks agreed to be loyal to Russia's ruler in return for help against the Poles. The Cossacks won independence from Poland, but their new state soon became part of the Russian Empire. Russian and Soviet controlIn the 18th century Russia slowly gained control over almost all of Ukraine. Russia forced Ukrainians to speak Russian instead of their own language. When the Russian Revolution broke out in 1917, Ukraine declared itself independent. By 1922, however, Ukraine had become part of the newly formed Soviet Union. It was renamed the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. Ukraine suffered bitterly during the rule of the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, who took power in 1922. Beginning in the 1930s Stalin combined the country's privately owned farms into huge government-owned farms. When Ukrainian farmers rebelled, Soviet authorities took away their grain. Some 5 to 7 million Ukrainians died from starvation in 1932–33 alone. The Soviets also made Ukraine the industrial center of the country. In 1941, during World War II, Germany invaded the Soviet Union and occupied Ukraine. Many Ukrainians welcomed the invasion because they wanted to free themselves from Soviet control. German rule, however, was just as harsh that of the Soviets. The hated collective farms continued to operate, and millions of Ukrainians were sent to Germany as slaves. The Jews of Ukraine were singled out for harsh treatment. Some 600,000 were murdered by German forces (see Holocaust). After the Soviets drove the Germans out of Ukraine in 1944, the country once again came under Soviet control. After the war, the Soviet Union regained additional lands that had historically been part of Ukraine. In the following decades Ukraine's economy slowly recovered from the damage caused by the war. Conditions in Ukraine improved after the death of Stalin in 1953. Ukraine enjoyed a period of greater cultural freedom in the 1950s and 1960s. By the 1970s, however, Soviet rule had become more strict. Many opponents of the government were jailed. IndependenceIn the late 1980s the policies of the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev led to greater freedom for Ukrainians. In 1991 the Soviet Union broke apart and Ukraine declared its independence. The new country's government was slow to reform the state-run economy created by the Soviets. As a result Ukraine continued to experience economic problems into the 21st century. Population (2001 estimate), 48,767,000. |