Ukraine was the center of the first
eastern Slavic state, Kyivan Rus, which during the 10th and 11th centuries was
the largest and most powerful state in Europe. Weakened by internecine quarrels
and Mongol invasions, Kyivan Rus was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of
Lithuania and eventually into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The cultural
and religious legacy of Kyivan Rus laid the foundation for Ukrainian
nationalism through subsequent centuries. A new Ukrainian state, the Cossack
Hetmanate, was established during the mid-17th century after an uprising
against the Poles. Despite continuous Muscovite pressure, the Hetmanate managed
to remain autonomous for well over 100 years. During the latter part of the
18th century, most Ukrainian ethnographic territory was absorbed by the Russian
Empire. Following the collapse of czarist Russia in 1917, Ukraine was able to
achieve a short-lived period of independence (1917-20), but was reconquered and
forced to endure a brutal Soviet rule that engineered two forced famines
(1921-22 and 1932-33) in which over 8 million died. In World War II, German and
Soviet armies were responsible for some 7 to 8 million more deaths. Although
final independence for Ukraine was achieved in 1991 with the dissolution of the
USSR, democracy and prosperity remained elusive as the legacy of state control
and endemic corruption stalled efforts at economic reform, privatization, and
civil liberties. A peaceful mass protest "Orange Revolution" in the
closing months of 2004 forced the authorities to overturn a rigged presidential
election and to allow a new internationally monitored vote that swept into
power a reformist slate under Viktor YUSHCHENKO. Subsequent internal squabbles
in the YUSHCHENKO camp allowed his rival Viktor YANUKOVYCH to stage a comeback
in parliamentary elections and become prime minister in August of 2006. An
early legislative election, brought on by a political crisis in the spring of
2007, saw Yuliya TYMOSHENKO, as head of an "Orange" coalition,
installed as a new prime minister in December 2007. Viktor YANUKOVUYCH was
elected president in a February 2010 run-off election that observers assessed
as meeting most international standards. The following month, Ukraine's parliament,
the Rada, approved a vote of no-confidence prompting Yuliya TYMOSHENKO to
resign from her post as prime minister. In October 2012, Ukraine held Rada
elections, widely criticized by Western observers as flawed due to use of
government resources to favor ruling party candidates, interference with media
access, and harassment of opposition candidates.
(Source: The World Factbook 2009.
Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2009)
For more information about Ukraine:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html
