Ukraine on the way to independence. First years

of the independence (1986-1994). Plan

Social, political and economic situation in Ukraine (1986-1991)

Ukraine in the first years of independence. Presidency of Leonid Kravchuk.

Social, political and economic situation in Ukraine (1986-1991)

communist ideology lost its authority spring of 1989 – the first free elections were

held in the USSR July 16, 1990 the Parliament adopted the

Declaration of State Sovereignty of Ukraine. August 19, 1991 – an attempt of the state

upheaval, striving to turn the country life to the state before 1985 was made.

The last Secretary of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev

August 24 –“The Bill of Independence Announcement of Ukraine” was approved.

December 1, 1991 – the referendum on confirmation of “The Bill of Independence Announcement of Ukraine” took place.

A week after the referendum, Borys Yeltsin, Leonid Kravchuk, and S. Shushkevych announced at the meeting in Minsk that the USSR no longer existed.

Leonid Kravchuk became the first President of Ukraine.

Flag of Ukraine

Coat of arms of Ukraine

Ukraine in the first years of independence. Presidency of Leonid Kravchuk.

positive developments: the media became much more open substantial development in religious life relations with minority groups were peaceful

negative developments: economic decline corruption increased numerous social ills the relations between Ukraine and Russia

were tense

contentious issues: the nature of participation in the CIS nuclear disarmament the status of the Crimea control of the Black Sea Fleet and its port

city of Sevastopol

Leonid Kravchuk achieved and strengthened sovereignty of

the country develop its relations with the West refused of nuclear weapons based on

Ukrainian territory failed to avoid corruption annual inflation rates from 1992 to 1994

reached thousands of percents The collapse of the Black Sea Steamship

Company – the saddest symbol of the Kravchuk era

a Ukrainian politician, the first President of Ukraine (from December 5, 1991 until July 19, 1994), a former Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada

Leonid Kravchuk

Geography At 603,700 kilometres² (233,074 sq mi) and

with a coastline of 2,782 kilometres (1,729 mi), Ukraine is the world's 44th-largest country (after the Central African Republic, before Madagascar).

It is the second largest country in Europe (after the European part of Russia, before metropolitan France).

The Ukrainian landscape consists mostly of fertile plains (or steppes) and plateaus, crossed by rivers such as the Dnieper (Dnipro), Seversky Donets, Dniester and the Southern Buh as they flow south into the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov.

The country's only mountains are the Carpathian Mountains in the west, of which the highest is the Hora Hoverla at 2,061 m (6,762 ft), and those on the Crimean peninsula, in the extreme south along the coast.

View of Yalta from the coast of the Black Sea.

Azov sea coast near Kerch.

The Dnieper River seen atop a hill in Kiev, Ukraine.

Tiraspol and the Dniester river

Economy With the collapse of the Soviet system, the country

moved from a planned economy to a market economy.

Ukraine produces nearly all types of transportation vehicles and spacecraft.

The country imports most energy supplies, especially oil and natural gas, and to a large extent depends on Russia as its energy supplier.

While 25 percent of the natural gas in Ukraine comes from internal sources, about 35 percent comes from Russia and the remaining 40 percent from Central Asia through transit routes that Russia controls.

The World Bank classifies Ukraine as a middle-income state.[

By July 2008 the average nominal salary in Ukraine reached 1,930  hryvnias per month.[92

Significant issues include underdeveloped infrastructure and transportation, corruption and bureaucracy.

Ukraine produces nearly all types of transportation vehicles and spacecraft.

Ukraine is recognised as a world leader in producing missiles and missile related technology.

The building of the National Bank of Ukraine

Ukrainian oblasts (provinces) by monthly salary

Culture Ukrainian customs are heavily influenced by

Christianity, which is the dominant religion in the country.

The tradition of the Easter egg, known as pysanky, has long roots in Ukraine.

In the city of Kolomya near the foothills of the Carpathian mountains in 2000 was built the museum of Pysanka which won a nomination as the monument of modern Ukraine in 2007, part of the Seven Wonders of Ukraine action.

Popular traditional dishes include varenyky (boiled dumplings with mushrooms, potatoes, sauerkraut, cottage cheese or cherries), borsch (soup made of beets, cabbage and mushrooms or meat) and holubtsy (stuffed cabbage rolls filled with rice, carrots and meat).

A collection of traditional pysanky from Volyn

The Pysanka Museum, Kolomiya, Ukraine

1. Sofiyivsky Park in Uman, Cherkasy Oblast

It was founded in 1796 by Count Stanisław Szczęsny Potocki, a noble Polish szlahtich. The park is named after his Greek wife Sofia and was built in 1802. It's one of the world famous garden-park art creations. There are many scenic areas in the park including waterfalls, fountains, ponds and a stone garden. It is one of the most famous examples of late 17th or early 18th century European landscape garden design that has been preserved to the present time.

2. Kiev Pechersk Lavra (Monastery of the Caves) in Kiev

Since its foundation as the cave monastery in 1015 the Lavra has been a prominent center of the Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Eastern Europe. Together with the Saint-Sophia Cathedral, it is inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.Currently, the jurisdiction over the site is divided between the state museum, National Kyiv-Pechersk Historic-Cultural Preserve, and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as the site of the chief monastery of that Church and the residence of its leader, Metropolitan Volodymyr.

3. Kamianets-Podilskyi Historical Complex inKamianets-Podilskyi, Khmelnytskyi Oblast

An old street in Kamianets-Podilskyi's old town quarter.

The Stephen Báthory Gate is part of the city's old fortification complex.

4. Khortytsia[8] in Zaporizhia, Zaporizhia Oblast

Nowadays, Khortysia is designated a national museum. The rural landscape of the island features the Zaporizhian Cossack Museum and a Cossack horse show. The museum building is modern, nestling low in the landscape with dramatic views of the Dnieper Hydroelectric Station to the north.The museum contains exhibits dating from the Stone Age through the Scythian period (c.750 - 250 BC) down to the 20th century, including a model of the Pecheneg ambush which claimed the life of Svyatoslav in 972 and a panorama representing the Battle for Zaporizhia, fought during World War II on October 14, 1943.

5. Chersonesos[9] in Sevastopol

Chersonesos was an ancient Greek colony founded approximately 2500 years ago in the southwestern part of Crimea, known then as Taurica. The colony was established in the 6th century BC. Chersonesos' ancient ruins are presently located in one of Sevastopol's suburbs. The buildings mix influences of Greek, Roman and Byzantine culture. The defensive wall is hundreds of meters long. Buildings include Roman amphitheatre and a Greek temple.

6. Saint Sophia Cathedral[10] in Kiev

7. Khotyn Fortress[11] in Khotyn, Chernivtsi Oblast

The Khotyn Fortress is a fortification complex located on the shores of the Dniester River in Khotyn, Chernivtsi Oblast of western Ukraine. Construction on the current fortress was started in 1325, while major improvements were made in the 1380s and in the 1460s.The fortress is a large tourist attraction for the area and Ukraine. It is also a National Ukrainian Architectural Preserve as of 2000.

Language According to the Constitution, the state language of

Ukraine is Ukrainian. According to the 2001 census, 67.5 percent of the

population declared Ukrainian as their native language and 29.6 percent declared Russian.

Most native Ukrainian speakers know Russian as a second language.

Ukrainian is mainly spoken in western and central Ukraine.

In central Ukraine, Ukrainian and Russian are both equally used

In eastern and southern Ukraine, Russian is primarily used in cities, and surzhyk is used in rural areas.

Percentage of native Ukrainian speakers by subdivision

Demographics According to the Ukrainian Census of 2001,

ethnic Ukrainians make up 77.8% of the population.

Other significant ethnic groups are Russians (17.3%), Belarusians (0.6%), Moldovans (0.5%), Crimean Tatars (0.5%), Bulgarians (0.4%), Hungarians (0.3%), Romanians (0.3%), Poles (0.3%), Jews (0.2%), Armenians (0.2%), Greeks (0.2%) and Tatars (0.2%).

The industrial regions in the east and southeast are the most heavily populated, and about 67.2 percent of the population lives in urban areas.

Ukraine is considered to be in a demographic crisis due to its high death rate and a low birth rate.

A factor contributing to the relatively high death is a high mortality rate among working-age males from preventable causes such as alcohol poisoning and smoking.

To help mitigate these trends, the government continues to increase child support payments. Thus it provides one-time payments of 12,250 hryvnias for the first child, 25,000 hryvnias for the second and 50,000 hryvnias for the third and fourth, along with monthly payments of 154 hryvnias per child.

Lilacs in the Central Botanical Garden, with Vydubychi Monastery and the Left Bank of Kiev in the background.

E40, the longest of all European routes, going through Kiev.

General view of the Andriyivskyy Descent with the Castle of Richard Lionheart on the left and the St Andrew's Church in the background.

This ensemble of authentic windmills is the centrepiece of a 1.5 square kilometres (0.58 sq mi) open air Museum of Folk Architecture and Life of Ukraine

Fire safety is a significant concern as most of the museum's structures are wooden, and many houses have thatched roofs.

View of the historic Old Town of Lviv.

A Lviv tram on a small cobblestone sidestreet in the Old Town.

The Lviv Opera and Ballet Theatre, an important cultural centre for residents and visitors.

Lychakivskiy Cemetery, 2007

Kharkiv's Freedom Square.

Religion The dominant religion in Ukraine is

Eastern Orthodox Christianity A distant second by the number of the followers

is the Eastern Rite Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

Additionally, there are 863 Roman Catholic Protestant Christians also form around

2.19 percent of the population. Other groups include Calvinists, Lutherans,

Methodists and Seventh-day Adventists. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church) is also present.

The ruins of an ancient Greek theatre. Chersonesus, Sevastopol.

Ruins of Panticapaeum. 6th century BC (Kerch)

Yenikale fortress. Built by the Turks in the 18th (Kerch)

The Massandra Palace near Yalta is one of the official residences of Ukraine.

                        

Swallow's Nest, a symbol of Crimea, one of the best-known, romantic castles near Yalta. It was built in 1912 in the Neo-Gothic style by the order of the German Baron Stengel.

The Hansaray, succession home of the Crimean Khans, in Bakhchisaray.