Land and Resources
The area of Ukraine area is 603,700 sq km (233,090 sq mi). Most
of Ukraine is a broad, flat plain. The highest point is Mount Hoverla
at 2061 m (6762 ft), located in the Carpathian Mountains in the
west. Ukraine has a temperate continental climate, with a subtropical
Mediterranean climate on the Crimean Peninsula in the south. Precipitation
generally decreases from north to south; it is greatest in the Carpathians.
Ukraine has extremely fertile soils in the central and southern
portions. Wildlife includes deer, beaver, marten, vulture, and the
steppe eagle.
People and Religion
The population of Ukraine was estimated in 2003 at 48,055,439,
giving the country a population density of 80 persons per sq km
(206 per sq mi). The most notable recent demographic trend has been
a decline in population—with an estimated loss of nearly 1.2
million between 1990 and 1997—due to death rates exceeding
birth rates. Leading factors in the country’s low fertility
and high mortality rates are environmental pollution, poor diet,
widespread smoking and alcoholism, and deteriorating medical care.
Some 68 percent of the population lives in cities and towns. The
largest cities in Ukraine are Kyiv, the country’s capital
and economic, cultural, and educational center; Kharkiv, noted for
its engineering expertise, machinery plants, and educational institutions;
Dnipropetrovs’k, a center of metallurgical and aerospace industries;
and Donets’k, known for mining and metallurgy. Odesa (Odessa),
on the Black Sea coast, is the country’s largest seaport.
Ethnic Ukrainians make up 73 percent of the population of Ukraine.
Russians are the largest minority group at 22 percent. Jews (considered
both an ethnic and a religious group in Ukraine) and Belarusians
each account for about 1 percent of the total. Other numerically
significant groups are Bulgarians, Poles, Hungarians, and Romanians.
Since the end of World War II in 1945, the proportion of Russians
nearly doubled, while the Jewish population declined by about half
as a result of emigration. Ethnic clashes are rare, although some
tension exists in Crimea between Crimean Tatars and ethnic Russians.
The Crimean Tatars, who were forcibly deported to Central Asia in
1944, are being allowed to resettle in Crimea. Of the 250,000 who
have returned, about 100,000 still have inadequate housing and 70,000
have not yet received Ukrainian citizenship.
--> Language
The official language of the country is Ukrainian, which forms with
Russian and Belarusian the eastern branch of the Slavic language
subfamily of Indo-European languages. Russian also is widely used,
especially in the cities.
--> Education
Literacy is almost universal in Ukraine, and education is compulsory
between the ages of 6 and 15. Ukraine’s institutions of higher
learning include ten universities and a large number of specialized
academies. The most prestigious is the University of Kyiv (founded
in 1834), located in the capital. L’viv State University (1784),
located in L’viv, is the country’s oldest university.
In recent years private schools and universities have appeared,
most notably the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy (1992), located in Kyiv.
--> Way of Life
Ukraine’s society was traditionally agrarian and village-based.
With Soviet rule came rapid modernization and urbanization. By the
1960s, most inhabitants lived in cities. Important regional differences
developed in Ukraine; today the west tends to be more agrarian,
traditionalist, religious, and Ukrainian-speaking, while the east
is industrialized, urbanized, and more often Russian-speaking. The
highly regimented lifestyle of the Soviet period is slowly being
supplanted by a consumer society. However, the transition to a market-based
economy is difficult, and most people have been engaged in a desperate
struggle to make ends meet.
A series of exploitative regimes kept living standards low during
the Soviet period, although the government provided employment and
other provisions such as housing. Apartments built during the Soviet
period are small and cramped, and most of the buildings are now
dilapidated. An average family has only about one-seventh the living
space of an average family in the United States. People in Ukraine
spend more than half of their income on food, and many families
depend on garden plots to meet their food needs. Due to economic
constraints, families are small and getting smaller. Divorce rates
are high. Despite formal equality, women are especially hard-pressed.
Although they form the majority of the labor force, even in sectors
demanding physical labor such as farming, few women have positions
of influence in politics, business, or government. Vacations, once
lengthy, have become less frequent for most people. New developments
since the end of Soviet rule are freedom of expression and the growth
of private property, especially in the form of dwellings.
The Ukrainian diet depends heavily on rye bread, potatoes, and
borsch (beet soup). Pork and pork products, especially sausage and
salo (a type of smoked bacon), are favored meats. Alcohol consumption,
especially of the potent horilka, a wheat-based whiskey, is high,
and smoking is widespread. Consumer goods are now more available
than in the Soviet period, but few people can afford them. City
residents usually have appliances such as refrigerators, telephones,
and televisions; these amenities are much less common in the villages.
Soccer is the most popular spectator sport in Ukraine. The main
leisure activity is watching television. Cultural activities such
as concerts, opera, and ballet are becoming less accessible for
most people because of the cost.
--> Religion
During most of the Soviet period, the state imposed severe restrictions
on religious activity, banned many churches, and persecuted religious
leaders. Many believers, forced underground, continued to adhere
to their faiths, however. Religious activity remained relatively
strong in Ukraine, and it has greatly expanded since the collapse
of the Soviet Union in 1991. A majority of the population adheres
to Eastern Orthodoxy through the Ukrainian Orthodox Church or the
Ukrainian Autocephalous (independent) Orthodox Church. Until 1990
all of the country’s Orthodox churches were part of the Ukrainian
exarchate, which was subsidiary to the patriarchate (jurisdiction
of the patriarch, or head) of the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1992
the Ukrainian Orthodox Church split into two rival denominations
when the Kyivan patriarchate was formed, separating itself from
the Moscow patriarchate. The autocephalous church, which was banned
by the Soviet government in 1930, regained legal status in 1990.
About 10 percent of the population, based almost exclusively in
western Ukraine, belongs to the Ukrainian Catholic (Uniate) Church,
a church of the Byzantine rite (see Eastern Rite Churches); banned
in 1946, this church was officially revived in 1991. Other denominations
include Roman Catholics of the Latin rite, Jews, Muslims, and Baptists.
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Economy
Ukraine was the second-ranking Soviet republic in industrial and
agricultural production, after Russia. Long known as the “breadbasket
of Europe,” Ukraine traditionally had a highly developed agricultural
sector because of its vast, fertile lands. It generated more than
one-fourth of the total agricultural output of the Soviet Union.
Industrial development was a high priority of the Soviet government.
In the 1930s Ukraine experienced a rapid and extensive industrial
upsurge, mainly in the mineral-rich Donets’k and Kryvyy Rih
regions. Because of Soviet development, which emphasized heavy industry,
Ukraine possesses one of the most industrialized economies of Europe.
However, its industries are highly inefficient and in pressing need
of modernization.
The collapse of the Soviet Union brought a dramatic rise in energy
costs and a reduction in demand for Ukraine’s products, causing
a catastrophic decline in production. The problems were compounded
by high rates of inflation and sluggish reforms to increase private
ownership of enterprise. In 1995 and 1996, however, inflation was
significantly reduced and reforms toward a system based on free
enterprise were accelerated. In addition, the United States as well
as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other international
organizations provided large grants and loans.
The value of Ukraine’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2001
was $37.6 billion. Agriculture, which includes forestry and fishing,
accounted for 17 percent; industry, which includes mining, manufacturing,
and construction, accounted for 39 percent; and trade and other
services accounted for 44 percent.
Government
Although Ukraine is a unitary state, its constitution allows for
a considerable degree of decentralization. The country is divided
into 24 oblasts (regions) and one autonomous republic, Crimea. The
cities of Kyiv and Sevastopol’ have special status; their
governments, which operate independently of oblast authority, are
responsible only to the central government in Kyiv. Local councils
and executive bodies, elected every four years, are responsible
for their jurisdiction’s taxes, budgets, schools, roads, utilities,
and public health. The Crimean Autonomous Republic enjoys far-ranging
autonomy within Ukraine, including its own constitution, legislature,
and Cabinet of Ministers. The latter controls Crimea’s government
and economy, but is restricted from implementing policies that would
contradict the constitution of Ukraine.
Executive authority in Ukraine lies in a president who is elected
by direct, popular vote. The president appoints the prime minister
and the cabinet with the approval of the legislature. The 450-member
Supreme Council is Ukraine's legislative authority.
History
Ukraine has been the site of much conflict over the centuries.
In the late 9th century Kiev was captured by Varangians and made
the capital of the state known as Kievan Rus. In the 13th century
the area was invaded by Tatar-Mongols. Galicia, in western Ukraine,
was annexed by Poland in the 14th century. At the same time, Lithuania
conquered Kiev, but both then fell under Polish rule. In 1667 eastern
Ukraine was ceded to Russia, and in 1793 the remainder of Ukraine—except
Galicia—became part of the Russian Empire. Galicia remained
part of the Austrian Empire, which it had joined in 1772. During
World War I (1914-1918), following Russia's Bolshevik Revolution
of 1917, Ukraine proclaimed independence. The Bolsheviks, however,
assumed control in 1920, and in 1922 Ukraine joined the Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
Between 1922 and 1939 the USSR suppressed Ukrainian nationalists,
who hoped for the independence of a Greater Ukraine, including Polish
Galicia and Czechoslovakian Ruthenia. Forced collectivization of
farms caused famine in the 1930s, and more than 7 million people
died in Ukraine. In 1939 Galicia was incorporated into Ukraine,
and during World War II (1939-1945) Germany invaded, dividing the
country into Russian Ukraine and West Ukraine. The USSR regained
control in 1944, and in 1954 added Crimea to Ukraine.
In 1991 the USSR collapsed, and Ukraine became an independent
republic. Crimea, dominated by ethnic Russians, tried unsuccessfully
to secede. In 1994 Crimea voted to reactivate its constitution,
which had been suspended in 1992, but Ukrainian President Leonid
Danylovych Kuchma dissolved the local parliament. Secessionist groups
were also defeated in local elections. In 1994 Kuchma was elected
president. He accelerated the conversion from a state-owned to a
free-market economy and signed an agreement with the Ukrainian parliament
giving the president broader political power.
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Internal Power Struggles
& Shifting Governments
Ukraine was the last of the former Soviet republics to adopt a
new constitution. The delay was caused by a struggle in the legislature
between reformers, who wanted to introduce a new, democratic system
of government, and conservatives, who wanted to preserve the structures
of the former Soviet state. In 1996 the reformers finally triumphed
when the legislature adopted a new constitution that stipulated
a parliamentary democracy. Ukraine adopted the new constitution
on June 28, 1996. This achievement was buttressed by the smooth
introduction, in August, of a new unit of currency, the hryvnia.
Meanwhile, Kuchma succeeded in persuading most of the political
leaders in Crimea to accept the idea of autonomy within Ukraine.
Nevertheless, political problems abounded. In May 1996 Kuchma replaced
his prime minister, Evhen Marchuk, with Pavlo Lazarenko, a rich,
influential businessman from Dnipropetrovs’k, a region from
where the new president himself and many top government officials
came. In July an attempt was made to assassinate the new prime minister.
Many viewed it as a reflection of the power struggles between powerful
clans of politicians and businessmen from Dnipropetrovs’k
and those from Donets’k. Such regional loyalties and conflicts,
accompanied by extensive corruption, began to play an increasing
role in the politics of Ukraine.
In 1997 President Kuchma dismissed Prime Minister Lazarenko, who
had drawn widespread criticism for the slow pace of economic reform,
and appointed Valery Pustovoitenko to succeed him. In the 1998 legislative
elections, the Communists won the largest percentage of the vote;
however, they still held less than 25 percent of the seats in a
parliament dominated by independents. In September 1998, less than
a month after Russia’s economic collapse, Ukraine’s
currency, the hryvnia, fell significantly in value, and the country’s
economy continued to slump through 1999. The government put limits
on the money supply so that Ukraine could receive loans from the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Union (EU).
In November 1999 Kuchma was elected to a second term as president.
He appointed Viktor Yushchenko, the longtime chairman of the National
Bank of Ukraine, as the new prime minister in December. Yushchenko
became immensely popular with the public for his economic reforms
and anticorruption efforts; however, the left-leaning legislature
ousted his government with a vote of no-confidence in April 2001.
Kuchma named a more conservative politician, Anatoli Kinakh, to
replace Yushchenko. In the 2002 legislative elections, the Communist
Party lost its dominance of the legislature, with more seats going
to Yushchenko’s new reformist bloc, Our Ukraine, than any
other party or bloc. However, the United Ukraine bloc, which supported
Kuchma, gained the support of enough independents to form the largest
parliamentary faction. Kuchma named the United Ukraine nominee,
Viktor Yanukovych, as prime minister.
--> 2004 Presidential Elections
Yushchenko emerged as the leading opposition candidate in the 2004
presidential race, running against Prime Minister Yanukovych. Kuchma,
who chose not to run for reelection, endorsed Yanukovych. Throughout
the election campaign Russian president Vladimir Putin publicly
endorsed Yanukovych, who favored stronger ties with Russia and found
his base of support in eastern Ukraine. Yushchenko advocated stronger
ties with the West and drew his support mostly from western Ukraine.
The election in late October gave a small lead of 0.5 percent to
Yushchenko, triggering a second-round ballot in November. Yanukovych
was officially declared the winner of the runoff election, but Yushchenko
rejected the result amid claims of widespread vote-rigging. Tens
of thousands of his supporters staged daily protests in Kiev’s
Independence Square, blockading government buildings and demanding
a new runoff election. Their protests became known as the Orange
Revolution, for the prominent display of Yushchenko’s campaign
color in flags, banners, and clothing.
In early December the Supreme Court ruled that the November election
had been fraudulent and annulled the results, paving the way for
a new runoff election on December 26. Yushchenko won the election
with 52 percent of the vote. Yanukovych, who took 44 percent of
the vote, resigned as prime minister at the end of December. He
appealed the result with the Supreme Court, but it upheld Yushchenko’s
election victory in January 2005.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian parliament reopened an inquiry into Yushchenko’s
claims he had been poisoned by his opponents during the election
campaign. In the last three months of the campaign, a worsening
skin condition had disfigured Yushchenko’s previously photogenic
face, in addition to other symptoms. Medical tests conducted in
Vienna, Austria, in mid-December showed that Yushchenko’s
blood contained an extremely high level of dioxin, a highly toxic
chemical byproduct, and further analysis determined the poison was
TCDD, the most toxic type of dioxin.
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