Ukraine - SpeedyLook encyclopedia

History

The Ukraine was the hearth of the first Eastern Slavic State, rested by Scandinavians, the Rous' of Kiev (called in the Western writings Ruthénie), which during Xe and XIe centuries was the largest State and most powerful of Europe.

At the 9th century, Kiev was taken with the Khazars by the Varègue (Eastern Viking) Oleh the Wise one. Located on lucrative commercial roads, Kiev quickly became the center of a powerful Slavic State, called " Rous" or Ruthénie (the name d'" Ukraine" , which means " go frontalière" in Russian, is due to the expansion of Moscovie, well later). At the 11th century, the Ruthénie was geographically the vastest State of Europe. Into 988, under the reign of Vladimir Large the, a Christian missionary, Cyrille, converts the aristocracy kiévienne (especially Varègue) and the majority of the population. Under the reign of Iaroslav Wise the, the prestige of the State kiévien reaches its apogee: it extends from the Baltique to the Black Sea and from the confluence of the Oka with the the Volga until the Carpates septendrionales. Iaroslav was a large builder, it is him which made build celebrates it Cathédrale Holy-Sophie in Kiev, and a large legislator. The right, education, architecture and art kiévien will know an impressive revival under its reign. But to the 12th century, of the conflicts among the lords of Ruthénie led the State kiévien to the decline: it is divided into various principalities. Kiev was ransacked by the principality of Vladimir (1169) during the fight to be able it between the princes and later by the Coumans and Tatars Mongolian at 12th and the 13th century. Consequently, the principalities ruthenes had to recognize the sovereignty of the Mongols. The Mongolian authority was very cruel, in particular out of penal matter, and the people often fled towards other countries like the Poland, the Hungary or the Moldavie.

During the 14th century, the Poles and the Lithuanians fought the Mongolian invader and finally all the septentrional Ukraine passed under the authority of the Poland and the Lithuania. Tatars kept only the littoral of the Black Sea and the Crimea; however, of 1412 to 1484, Poland reached the Black Sea on the side of Otchakiv (towards current Odessa).

It is during this lituano-Polish domination, as from the 15th century, that the Cosaques were formed, of the peasants orthodoxe ruthenes which refused the constraint and the assimilation with the Poles Catholique S. the kingdom of Poland tolerates them and uses them against Tatars, then, as from the 16th century, against the Othoman Turks, become suzerains of the tatars of the Crimea.

Weakened by the Mongolian internal quarrels and invasions , the Ruthénie was gradually integrated into the Grand-Duché of Lithuania and finally, at the 16th century, in the lituano-Polish Confédération.

In the middle of the 17th century, following a popular revolt of the Cossacks of the Register and Sich, as well as Ukrainian peasants, an Ukrainian autonomous State, the Hetmanat cossack, was established and will perdura during more than one century in spite of the pressure of the Muscovite invaders attracted by the rich and fertile grounds. Following the treaty of Androussovo, it was divided into two, one under protectorate Polish, the other under Moscovite protectorate which will perdura during more than one century. the territory of the Cosaques Zaporogues of Sich was first of all managed jointly by the two sovereigns.

Catherine Large the, empress of Russia, removed the Hetmanat in the middle of the XVIII century and destroyed Sich in last the XVIII century quarter. The division of Poland enabled him to practically recover all the Ukraine of Right Bank, except for Galicie, last under control of the Empire Austro Hungarian.

The Ukrainian culture knew a rebirth at the 19th century. Moscow was not long in reacting and, in the 1876, prohibited Ukrainian language in the schools, the newspapers and the literature. In 1892, Kiev counted nearly a half-million inhabitants.

After the Revolution of October of 1917, the Ukraine was briefly independent until 1920. Ukrainian power station Split proclaimed on November 20th, 1917 the Popular republic of Ukraine and on January 25th, 1918 its separation of with Russia. The first Head of Ukrainian State became V.K. Vinnitchenko.

To fight the Red Army which controlled part of the Ukraine then, Split it central sought the support of the Germans who organized a coup d'etat and reversed the government of Vinnitchenko, putting at his place P.P. Skoropadski. But Germany lost the First World War and Skoropadski, deprived of any support, was reversed by the popular movement, was guided by Simon Petlioura. Finally, on December 14th, 1918, the Popular republic of Ukraine was restored with V.K. Vinnitchenko.

The Ukraine was invaded by the Red Army and brought back in the Russian bosom. The old “attic” of Russia tsarist, become a republic marionette, continued to supply the Soviet urban centres. December 30th, 1922, the USSR was born from the treaty which joined together RSFSR, the Bielorussia, the Ukraine and the Transcaucasia. In the conflict which opposed the Communists of the center (Moscow) and the Communist parties national, it is the center which carried it and imposed a federation.

When Stalin started his industrial revolution towards the end of the year 1920, the Ukraine became one of the essential sources of its financing. The years of industrialization were remembered by the construction of the largest hydro-electric power station of Europe on the Dniepr (the DnieproGuES), which contributed to the electrification of the Republic, as well as an important development of the large field and metallurgical, the Donbass.

After a short period of ukrainisation (countryside known as of “ korenizatsiya ”) in the years 1920, resulting in the return to the source language in the publications, the reopening of the schools and the universities with an Ukrainian teaching in and the promotion of the national executives, Stalin did not spare the efforts to repress the least sign of an Ukrainian national alarm clock, interpreted like a rejection of the capacity Bolchevik and a threat with the integrity of the the USSR.

Under Stalin, a genocidary famine caused artificially by the Collectivization forced peasants and the requisition of the majority of their harvests, policy decided by Stalin, would have made between 3 and 7 million victims in Ukraine of 1932-33, whereas this area was most prolific from an agricultural point of view of all the the USSR; the Ukrainians call it “Holodomor” or “the extermination by the hunger”. According to certain analysts, this famine entered within the showing framework of its operations of repression of the people of resistance to the Stalinist mode (in particular by inclinations of independence) (ex: Tchetchenes, Germans of the Volga).

Executions and deportations of Ukrainian intellectuals are orchestrated by his mode lasting the purgings of 1937-1939: a few million Ukrainians is carried out or sent towards of the Soviet camps of work. Moreover, the Kremlin which preached the atheism of state attacks with the religious symbols, of which churches and cathedrals while destroying more than 250 buildings.

After the invasion of Poland in 1939 by the German and Soviet troops, certain Polish areas with strong Ukrainian minority were annexed by the Soviet Union and were incorporated within the Western Ukraine.

In spring 1941, the Ukraine was quickly invaded by the German armies. During two years, the exactions of the Nazis were terrible. Massacres of thousands of Ukrainians, systematic plundering of the natural resources and agricultural, drives out with the partisans with hundreds of villages flarings which see their massacred population.

April 28th, 1943, the high command of Wehrmacht announces the creation of the division S galicie consisted of Ukrainian volunteers; the historians estimate that more than 220.000 Ukrainians engaged with dimensions German forces during the second world war (Polizei, U.V.V, Hiwi S or Waffen-SS). In 1944, the Red Army released from the Nazis and reconquered most of the Ukraine. At the end of the war, the losses Ukrainian rise to 8 million people including 1,377 million Soviet soldiers of Ukrainian nationality (15,9% of the total losses of the Red Army), which makes the second group of it after the Russians. As for the independence , they continued their resistance armed against the USSR until 1954.

The October 24th 1945, under the Soviet initiative, to mark the recognition of their contribution in the fight tells the Nazism, the Ukraine and Bielorussia obtained their own places with UNO.

In 1954, the Soviet chief Nikita Khrouchtchev transferred the the Crimea to the socialist Soviet republic from Ukraine to mark the 300e birthday of the Traité of Pereïaslav.

It is only into 1989 that the liberalization of the Soviet mode and the release of the political prisoners made it possible to the Ukrainians to be organized to defend their rights. In 1989, the Ukrainian National movement, Roukh, were created. At the time of the elections of March 1990, the Ukrainian parties of the democratic block then obtained approximately 25% of the seats at the Parliament. Under the influence of the democratic deputies, the Parliament adopted, on July 16th, 1990, the Declaration on the political sovereignty of the Ukraine. It was the first step towards the complete independence of the Ukraine. This one was proclaimed on August 24th, 1991 and was confirmed by the referendum of December 1st, 1991: 90,5% voters voted for independence. The following week, the USSR ceased existing following the dissolution decided during the meeting with Minsk of the leaders Russian, Ukrainian and Belorusse.

The Ukraine became one of the member-founders of the Communauté of the independent States.

Geography

Physical geography

The Ukraine is a country of Europe of the East. It divides its land borders with seven countries bordering: in the west the Poland, the Slovakia and the Hungary; in south-west the Romania and the Moldavie; in the east and the North-East the Russia; in north the Bielorussia. The country measures 1 316 kilometers of are in west and 893 kilometers of north in the south, for an total surface area of 603 550 km ².

It is a relatively flat country, with fertile grounds in its center, which enables him to have a productive agriculture. The mountains of the Ukraine are in fact the final parts of the reliefs of Central Europe and the Mediterranean.

Carpates, with the Hoverla which culminates with 2.061m, which makes of it more the high summit of division carpatienne.
the the Crimea has an impressive solid mass, culminating with more 1.500m, and being thrown directly in the Black Sea.

The Ukrainian mountain is made up of the Carpates in Western Ukraine and of the mountains the Crimea/mount. Hoverla, the culminating point of Ukraine, reached 2 061 meters. The major part of the center of the country is a fertile plain, started from that which covers Eastern Europe.

The Ukraine also profits from an extended river system, composed mainly by the Dniepr (Dnipro), the Dniester (Dnister), the Western Boug, southernmost Boug, and the Donets in the east. The the Danube (Dounay) mark the border enters the Ukraine and Romania, in the extreme south-west.

The climate of the major part of the Ukraine is continental with cold winters and hot summers (Mediterranean only on the southern part of the Crimea). The average temperatures with Kharkov in Eastern Ukraine are of approximately 7°C in January and 20°C in July. Precipitations go approximately 750 mm per annum in north to approximately 250 mm in the south.

Principal cities: Kiev ( Kyiv ; 2,6 , hab. million) Kharkiv (1,5 million), Dnipropetrovsk (1,2 million), Odessa (1,2 million), Donetsk (1,1 million), Lviv (0,8 million), Zaporijjya (0,7 million).

Other cities: Vinnitsa (335 000 inhabitants) Kherson (303 900 inhabitants), Stakhanov (120 000 inhabitants).

Administrative geography

Areas

Autonomous republic

Republic of the Crimea

Policy

Economy

Environment

The country was marked by the Catastrophe of Tchernobyl, even if the repercussions primarily related to the Bielorussia.

As an energy nodal center for Eastern Europe, the accident risk related to an energy infrastructure remains high.

Culture

Demography

Data synthetic

Religions

The two great religions of the country are the Orthodoxie and the Eastern Catholic church (also called Eastern Églises uniates). The Protestants and Jews are also represented. The Orthodoxe Church is the religion most practiced in the country.

Cook

The Ukrainian Cuisine is a big part of the national culture. Special dishes are prepared with Easter or Christmas. The Ukrainians use various kinds of Sauce S, of Poisson S and of Fromage S. the Pain is an essential component with any meal. The variety of the dishes is very required. The Bortsch is a traditional soup been useful in entry. It is containing beets and of vegetables (Haricot S, cabbage, Carotte S, Concombre S, potatoes, Oignon S or Tomate S) and of meat (Poulet, Porc or Bœuf).

The vareniki (Вареники) is a popular traditional Ukrainian dish and very anchored in the Ukrainian kitchen. Resembling Raviolis, they are however bulkier and very similar to the pierogi (their Polish equivalent). Their joke is generally made up of potato, but there are many variations: cheese, mushroom, cabbage, even several combinations between them.

Transport

The majority of the Ukrainian airline companies, approved by IATA, sector under development full, appear in the following list: List of the Ukrainian companies.

See too

Internal bonds

External bonds

official Gate of the Presidency of the Ukraine
official Gate of the government
Ukraine: between Russia and Occident by Caroline Leguy.
Page of the CIA World Fact Book
Web-Forum Ukraine-France

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