Ukraine

**Ukraine** is a country in Eastern Europe bordering Russia, Moldova and other countries. The capital is Kiyv.

Since December 5, 1991, Leonid Kravchuk has held the post of president, Leonid Kuchma is the Prime Minister. The administrative division of Ukraine was transferred from the Ukrainian SSR in the form of regions, cities of republican subordination and the Crimean ASSR.

## Ukraine

Flag

Ukraine on the map

### Ethnic groups

72% - Ukrainians
22% - Russians

8% - Others

### Government

Unitary semi-presidential republic
President - Leonid Kravchuk

Premier-minister - Leonid Kuchma

President (Parlament) - Ivan Plyushch

## History

### Ukrainian SSR

On December 30, 1922, the Russian SFSR, the Ukrainian SSR, the Byelorussian SSR and the Transcaucasian SFSR signed an Agreement on the formation of the USSR, which marked the beginning of the establishment of the USSR. In 1932-1933, millions of Ukrainians died during the Holodomor, a man—made famine organized by the Soviet government under the leadership of Stalin. 80% of the population of Ukraine in those years were peasants, who became the main victims of the Holodomor.

In September 1939, after the German attack on Poland (the beginning of World War II), Ukraine got lands: part of Poland, Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina and the rest of the lands were part of the Ukrainian SSR. But at the same time, Ukraine became the first country to be hit by Germany on June 22, 1941. On September 19, 1941, the troops of Germany and its allies captured Kiev and the Right Bank, on October 24 — Kharkov and the Left Bank, and in June — July 1942 — the Crimea and Kuban. In the period 1943-1944, a Soviet counteroffensive was conducted on the territory of Ukraine: at the end of August 1944, the USSR liberated the entire territory. The victims of this war were from 8 to 10 million residents of Ukraine. Part of the Ukrainian nationalists fought both against the Red Army and against Germany as part of the UPA. After the end of the war, the Ukrainian SSR within the USSR became one of the founding members of the UN.

The second expansion of the territories of the Ukrainian SSR occurred in 1945 (Czechoslovakia gave the territory of the Transcarpathian region) and in 1954 (the Crimean region was transferred).

### Independent Ukraine

On March 17, 1991, an All-Union referendum on the preservation of the USSR was held, which supported the question "that Ukraine should be part of the Union of Soviet Sovereign States on the basis of the Declaration on State Sovereignty of Ukraine" (80.2%). After the defeat of the August coup of the GKCHP in Moscow, on August 24, 1991, the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR proclaimed the independence of Ukraine. On December 1, 1991, an all-Ukrainian referendum was held, the ballot of which included the question "Do you confirm the act of proclamation of independence of Ukraine?". The turnout for the referendum in the republic was 84.18% (31,891,742 people), of which 90.32% answered "yes, I confirm", and 7.58% — "no, I do not confirm". On December 8, 1991, the heads of the three founding republics of the USSR, Kravchuk (Ukraine), Yeltsin (Russia) and Shushkevich (Belarus) signed the Belovezhskaya Agreements on the termination of the existence of the USSR and the creation of the CIS.

## Administrative divisions of Ukraine

After gaining independence as a result of the collapse of the USSR, Ukraine retained the administrative-territorial division that existed in the Ukrainian SSR. At the first level of the administrative-territorial division of Moldova, there are 24 regions, 2 cities of republican subordination and the Crimean Republic.