Ukraine

Country Briefs: Nestled in Eastern Europe, bordering Russia to northeast, Belarus to north, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary to the west, Romania and Moldova to the southwest and the black sea to the south, is the beautiful and dynamic country of Ukraine, a place worth visiting. Ukraine is a country of warm and friendly people, rich and diverse cultures, incredible art and architecture and breathtaking scenic splendor.

Spreading in an area of 603,700 square kilometers, Ukraine is a country that has something for everyone. The population of the country is around 47,425,336 most of which resides in its largest and capital city Kiev. Kiev is a one of the most popular cities of Ukraine and a paradigm reflection the country’s past that can be traced back to around 4500 BC when human settlement began in the region.

From 700 BC to 200 BC Ukraine was under the Scythian Kingdom. In 7^th century Ukraine was a hub of Bulgars who had their capital in the city of Phanagoria.

At the end of the 7^th century majority of Bulgar tribes migrated here and there and the Khazars (Turkic semi-nomadic people) got an opportunity to occupy Central Asia. The Khazars also founded the Khazar kingdom that comprised of eastern Ukraine, Azerbaijan, southern Russia and Crimea.

Ukraine became the territory of Kievan Rus (a powerful state in Europe) in 10^th and 11^th century. This led to the foundation for national identity of Ukrainians and the establishment of Kiev as the capital city of the newly formed country with Askold and Dir as its ruler.

Over the years internal conflicts and Mongol and Tatar invasions wrecked the Kievan Rus. On the Ukranian territory, the principalities of Halych and Volodymyr- Volynski succeeded the state of Kievan Rus.  In 14^th century the land came under the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In 1569 the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was formed and a large part of Ukraine was transferred to the Polish Crown.

In the mid-17^th century the Ukrainians established the Zaporizhian Sich, a Cossack state. This state was located in Ukraine and it was an autonomous military state. In 1648 Bohdan Khmelnytsky organized the biggest Cossack revolt that led to the division of Ukraine between Poland and Russia. In 1654 the treaty of Pereyaslav was signed and so left-blank Ukraine was integrated into Russia as Cossack Hetmanate. The western Ukraine or Galicia went under Austria while the rest of Ukraine became a part of the Russian Empire. Later the Treaty of Pereyaslav was abolished and so Ukraine did not get free from the Tsarist Russia.

After the 1917 Russian Revolution Ukraine was divided into two independent states of Ukrainian People’s Republic and the West Ukrainian People’s Republic. After few years, in 1920 the two states joined together. But by 1922 Ukraine was split into Poland and Soviet Union. In 1922 a large part of Central and Eastern Ukraine became a constituent republic of USSR as the Ukrainian SSR.

During the Second World War a part of Ukrainian nationalists fought both Nazi and Soviet forces while the other half assisted them. After the war most Ukrainians were united under one political state due to the extension of the then Soviet Ukraine borders. In 1954, Crimea was transferred to Ukraine. Finally Ukraine acquired independence in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Ukraine Regions

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