Ukraine

Lore & Background

Humans have inhabited Ukraine since at least 32,000 BC. During the Middle Ages, it was the site of early Slavic expansion and later became a key centre of East Slavic culture under the state of Kievan Rus', which emerged in the 9th century. Kievan Rus' became the largest and most powerful realm in Europe in the 10th and 11th centuries, but gradually disintegrated into rival regional powers before being destroyed by the Mongols in the 13th century. For the next 600 years the area was contested, divided, and ruled by a variety of external powers, including the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Kingdom of Poland, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Austrian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Tsardom of Russia. The Cossack Hetmanate emerged in central Ukraine in the 17th century but was partitioned between Russia and Poland before being gradually absorbed by the Russian Empire in the 18th century. Ukrainian nationalism developed and, following the Russian Revolution in 1917, the short-lived Ukrainian People's Republic was formed. The Bolsheviks consolidated control over much of the former empire and established the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, which became a constituent republic of the Soviet Union in 1922. In the early 1930s, millions of Ukrainians died in the Holodomor, a human-made famine. During World War II, Ukraine was occupied by Germany and endured major battles and atrocities, resulting in 7 million civilians killed, including most Ukrainian Jews. Ukraine gained independence in 1991 as the Soviet Union dissolved, declaring itself neutral. A new constitution was adopted in 1996 as the country transitioned to a free market liberal democracy amid endemic corruption and a legacy of state control. The Orange Revolution of 2004–2005 ushered electoral and constitutional reforms. Resurgent political crises prompted a series of mass demonstrations in 2014 known as the Euromaidan, leading to a revolution, at the end of which Russia unilaterally occupied and annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, and pro-Russian unrest culminated in a war in Donbas with Russia and Russian-backed separatists. The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine began a new phase of the war.

In Their Own Story

The wind howls across the Kharkiv steppes, carrying the metallic tang of smoke mixed with the sweet, heavy scent of ripening wheat. In a village square, an elder traces the faded contours of Kyivan Rus' on a weathered map, his eyes reflecting stories of Cossacks who once rode these same golden waves free from empire. Though shadows stretch long over the land now, the blue and yellow flag snaps defiantly above the local schoolhouse—a stark, vibrant promise that the spirit of this ancient soil cannot be broken.

Reader's Guide

Ukraine is a unitary state and its system of government is a semi-presidential republic. Ukraine's economy is a transition economy, with the lowest nominal GDP per capita in Europe as of 2024. Due to its extensive fertile land, the country is an important exporter of grain, though grain production has declined since 2022 due to the Russo-Ukrainian war, endangering global food security. Ukraine is considered a middle power in global affairs. Its military is the sixth largest in the world with the eighth largest defence budget, and operates one of the world's largest and most diverse drone fleets. Ukraine is a founding member of the United Nations and a member of the Council of Europe, the World Trade Organisation, and the OSCE. It is negotiating to join the European Union and applied to join NATO in 2022.

Did You Know?

• The name of Ukraine is frequently interpreted as coming from the old Slavic term for 'borderland' as is the word krajina.
• Another interpretation is that the name of Ukraine means 'region' or 'country'.
• In the English-speaking world during most of the 20th century, Ukraine was referred to as 'the Ukraine', but since independence in 1991 this usage has become politicised and more rare, and style guides advise against its
• The official Ukrainian position is that 'the Ukraine' is both grammatically and politically incorrect.