UKRAINE

Ukrainian Ukrayina country located in eastern Europe, after Russia the second largest on the continent. It is bordered by Belarus on the north, Russia on the east, the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea on the south, Moldova and Romania on the southwest, and Hungary, Slovakia, and Poland on the west; in the far southeast, Ukraine is separated from Russia by the Kerch Strait, which connects the Sea of Azov to the Black Sea. Ukraine has an area of 233,100 square miles (603,700 square kilometres). The capital is Kiev (Kyyiv), located on the Dnieper River in north-central Ukraine. An independent Ukraine emerged only late in the 20th century, after long periods of successive domination by Poland-Lithuania, Russia, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. From 1922 to 1991 Ukraine formed part of the latter under the name Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. With the unraveling of the Soviet Union in 199091, however, the Ukrainian S.S.R.'s legislature declared sovereignty (July 16, 1990) and then declared outright independence (Aug. 24, 1991), a move that was confirmed by popular approval in a plebiscite soon afterward. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union itself in December 1991, Ukraine gained full independence. The country changed its official name to Ukraine, and it helped found the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Ukrainian Ukrayina country in southeastern Europe, the second largest of the continent after Russia. Ukraine is bordered by Belarus on the north, by Russia on the north, northeast, and east, by the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea on the south, by Moldova and Romania on the southwest, and by Hungary, Slovakia, and Poland on the west. The capital is Kiev. Area 233,100 square miles (603,700 square km). Pop. (1995 est.) 52,003,000. Physical and human geography. Ukraine consists almost entirely of level plains and occupies a large portion of the East European Plain. The central part of the country consists of the Dnieper Lowland, through which the Dnieper River runs from north to south. Other lowlands extend along the shores of the Black and Azov seas in southern Ukraine, while the Crimean Peninsula, in the extreme south, has both lowlands and low mountains. Western Ukraine has some uplands, and the Carpathian Mountains extend through that region for more than 150 miles (240 km). Ukraine lies in a temperate climatic zone and receives 16 to 24 inches (400 to 600 mm) of precipitation annually. The Dnieper, Don, Dniester, and other rivers all drain southward through the plains to empty into the AzovBlack Sea Basin. Ukraine's most important river, the Dnieper, is extensively dammed along much of its course for hydroelectric and irrigation purposes. Ethnic Ukrainians make up more than seven-tenths of the total population. The Ukrainian language is closely related to Russian and Belarusian and belongs to the Slavic group of languages. Russians are the largest minority group, accounting for about two-tenths of the population. The highest population densities are found in the industrialized Donets Basin and Dnieper Bend regions and in the agriculturally productive forest-steppe belt. The belt of mixed forest and steppe running west-east across south-central Ukraine has rich black soils whose intense cultivation has made the country a major producer of winter wheat and sugar beets. Other crops include sunflower seeds, corn (maize), potatoes, grapes, oats, rye, millet, and buckwheat. Fruits and vegetables are grown on the outskirts of cities, and cattle and pigs are raised throughout the country. Ukraine has rich reserves of iron ore, bituminous and anthracite coals, and manganese-bearing ores located in close proximity to each other in the Donets Basin. This region, in east-central Ukraine, is the industrial heartland of the country and one of the major heavy-industrial and mining-metallurgical complexes of Europe. Ukraine also produces natural gas and petroleum, though reserves of these fuels were much depleted during the Soviet period. The Ukrainian economy largely depends on heavy industry and agriculture. Besides its basic mining industries, the Donets Basin has ferrous-metals industries that produce iron and steel in large quantities. Durable goods manufactured in the Donets Basin include mining and metallurgical equipment, automobiles, and tractors. The chemical industry produces large amounts of sulfuric acid and mineral fertilizers. Ukraine's food-processing industries yield granulated sugar and meat, fruit, and dairy products. The country's light-industrial and consumer-goods sectors are underdeveloped in comparison to its heavy industry and agriculture, however. Ukraine's political system underwent rapid change in the early 1990s after the country gained its independence from the collapsing Soviet Union in late 1991. During the Soviet period (192291), Ukraine had been governed by the Ukrainian Communist Party, which in turn was subordinated to the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. After independence, however, Ukraine's rubber-stamp legislature, the Supreme Soviet, was converted to a functioning parliament called the Supreme Council, whose members are chosen to four-year terms in free, multicandidate elections. The chief executive of Ukraine is the president, who is also chosen in free elections. The day-to-day administration of the government rests in the hands of the prime minister, who heads the Cabinet of Ministers and is chosen by the president with parliamentary approval. Illiteracy was virtually eliminated during the Soviet period, and education is compulsory between the ages of 7 and 15. In higher education, Ukrainian is once again becoming the main language of instruction after being displaced by Russian during the Soviet period. Primary and secondary schools using Russian still prevail in the Donets Basin and in the south, where there are large Russian minorities. Additional reading General works Encyclopaedic reference sources on the country include M.P. Bazhan et al. (eds.), Soviet Ukraine (1969; originally published in Ukrainian, 1964); and the most extensive Western reference works, Volodymyr Kubijovyc (ed.), Ukraine: A Concise Encyclopedia, 2 vol. (196371; originally published in Ukrainian, 3 parts, 194952), a thematic approach, and Encyclopedia of Ukraine (1984 ; originally published in Ukrainian, 10 parts, 195584), an alphabetic treatment. Geography English-language sources on the physical geography of Ukraine are scarce. Regional geography studies cited in the bibliography to the article Union of Soviet Socialist Republics can be informative. A brief survey, Geography of Ukraine (1985), prepared by the Ukrainian Information Collective in Australia, is also useful. Among non-English-language sources, details on all aspects of the geography of Ukraine are found in O.M. Marynych et al. (eds.), Heohrafichna entsyklopediia Ukrany (1989 ), a beautifully illustrated encyclopaedic work in Ukrainian.Among surveys of the country's economy are I.S. Koropeckyj (ed.), Ukrainian Economic History: Interpretive Essays (1991), and The Ukraine Within the USSR: An Economic Balance Sheet (1977); and Vsevolod Holubnychy, Soviet Regional Economics (1982). Other solid studies include I.S. Koropeckyj, Development in the Shadow: Studies in Ukrainian Economics (1990), and The Ukrainian Economy: Achievements, Problems, Challenges (1992).Soviet-era issues that have influenced the political and social situation in Ukraine are dealt with in separate chapters of Lubomyr Hajda and Mark Beissinger (eds.), The Nationalities Factor in Soviet Politics and Society (1990). Book-length studies include Jaroslaw Bilocerkowycz, Soviet Ukrainian Dissent: A Study of Political Alienation (1988); Bohdan Krawchenko, Social Change and National Consciousness in Twentieth-Century Ukraine (1985); Peter J. Potichnyj (ed.), Ukraine in the Seventies (1975); and Bohdan Krawchenko (ed.), Ukraine After Shelest (1983).Ukrainian cultural expression is the subject of M.P. Bazhan (ed.), Istoriia Ukrans'koho Mystetstva, 6 vol. in 7 (196670); Dmytro Cyzevsky, A History of Ukrainian Literature, from the 11th to the End of the 19th Century (1975; originally published in Ukrainian, 1956); George G. Grabowicz, Toward a History of Ukrainian Literature (1981); George S.N. Luckyj, Literary Politics in the Soviet Ukraine, 19171934, rev. and updated ed. (1990), and Ukrainian Literature in the Twentieth Century: A Reader's Guide (1992); and Sviatoslav Hordynsky, The Ukrainian Icon of the XIIth to the XVIIIth centuries, trans. from Ukrainian (1973).Religion is examined in Ivan Hvat, The Ukrainian Catholic Church, the Vatican, and the Soviet Union During the Pontificate of Pope John Paul II, Religion in Communist Lands, 11(3):264294 (Winter 1983); Bohdan R. Bociurkiw, The Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, in Pedro Ramet (ed.), Eastern Christianity and Politics in the Twentieth Century (1988), pp. 309319; and Frank E. Sysyn, The Ukrainian Orthodox Question in the USSR (1987). History Comprehensive historical surveys include Michael Hrushevsky, A History of Ukraine, trans. from Ukrainian (1941, reissued 1970); Dmytro Doroshenko, A Survey of Ukrainian History, updated ed., rev. by Oleh W. Gerus, trans. from Ukrainian (1975); Roman Szporluk, Ukraine: A Brief History, 2nd expanded ed. (1982); and Orest Subtelny, Ukraine: A History, 2nd ed. (1994), a large-scale modern and balanced synthesis. Paul Robert Magocsi and Geoffrey J. Matthews, Ukraine: A Historical Atlas (1985), offers a helpful supplement for the better understanding of interpretive discussions.Studies of special subjects include Linda Gordon, Cossack Rebellions: Social Turmoil in the Sixteenth-Century Ukraine (1983); John Basarab, Pereiaslav 1654 (1982); Zenon E. Kohut, Russian Centralism and Ukrainian Autonomy: Imperial Absorption of the Hetmanate, 1760s1830s (1988); Jan Kozik, The Ukrainian National Movement in Galicia, 18151849, ed. by Lawrence D. Orton, trans. from Polish (1986); John S. Reshetar, The Ukrainian Revolution, 19171920: A Study in Nationalism (1952, reissued 1972); Taras Hunczak (ed.), The Ukraine, 19171921: A Study in Revolution (1977); James E. Mace, Communism and the Dilemmas of National Liberation: National Communism in Soviet Ukraine, 19181933 (1983); Jurij Borys, The Russian Communist Party and the Sovietization of Ukraine: A Study in the Communist Doctrine of the Self-determination of Nations (1960, reprinted 1983); Robert Conquest, The Harvest of Sorrow: Soviet Collectivization and the Terror-Famine (1986); John A. Armstrong, Ukrainian Nationalism, 3rd ed. (1990); Yaroslav Bilinsky, The Second Soviet Republic: The Ukraine After World War II (1964); Borys Lewytzkyj, Politics and Society in Soviet Ukraine, 19531980 (1984); David R. Marples, The Social Impact of the Chernobyl Disaster (1988); Alexander J. Motyl, Dilemmas of Independence: Ukraine After Totalitarianism (1993); and Taras Kuzio and Andrew Wilson, Ukraine: Perestroika to Independence (1994). Ihor Stebelsky Lubomyr A. Hajda The Editors of the Encyclopdia Britannica Administration and social conditions Government Transition to independence The government of Ukraine underwent rapid change in the early 1990s. Before its declaration of independence in 1991, Ukraine was officially called the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and was part of the Soviet Union. According to the 1937 Soviet constitution as amended in 1944, Ukraine had the right to enter into direct relations with foreign states, to conclude agreements, and to exchange diplomatic and consular representatives with them and to maintain its own military forces. The only real expression of these constitutional prerogatives in international affairs, however, was Ukraine's charter membership in the United Nations (and consequently in some 70 other international organizations), a distinction it shared with the Belorussian S.S.R. (now Belarus) as the only two UN members that were not fully sovereign countries. The revised Soviet constitution of 1977 further limited the prerogatives of the Ukrainian S.S.R. Following the failed coup (Aug. 19, 1991) against the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, Ukraine proclaimed its independence on Aug. 24, 1991, and won overwhelming popular approval for this act in a referendum on Dec. 1, 1991. Ukraine was subsequently recognized by other governments, and many international agreements were signed, notably with neighbouring countries. In addition, Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia formed the Commonwealth of Independent States on Dec. 8, 1991, which was then joined by eight other former republics of the defunct Soviet Union. The Commonwealth's members agreed to retain the strategic nuclear forces of the former Soviet Union under a unified command, and in 1994 the Ukrainian government agreed to begin dismantling the strategic nuclear missiles that were based on its territory. The Ukrainian government insisted, however, on the creation of Ukrainian armed forces out of the Soviet troops stationed in Ukraine. Ukraine also intended to conduct its own fiscal policy and to that end established a national bank. The Soviet-era constitution largely remains in force. Constitutional framework The highest legislative unit of the Ukrainian government is the unicameral Supreme Council of Ukraine (formerly the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian S.S.R.), the members of which are elected to terms of four years. Whereas in the past these members were elected to represent various institutions and the general population from a single slate of candidates put forward by the Communist Party of Ukraine, in March 1990 the first multicandidate, multiparty elections were held. During the Soviet period the legislature met only twice a year for a few days to approve budgetary and other proposals passed by its Presidium and the Council of Ministers; the Supreme Council has now assumed an active role in debating proposed laws and in shaping the policies of the Ukrainian government. The Presidium of the Supreme Council, which is elected by the council from among its members, consists of a chairman, two vice-chairmen, a secretary, and 15 members; it acts for the council between sessions. Until recently, the Presidium exercised both executive and legislative powers, but, after the election of the president of Ukraine (Dec. 1, 1991) by the general population, the executive and legislative powers were separated. The highest executive office is that of the president, elected by direct popular vote for a five-year term. The president has the power to sign passed legislation to take immediate effect and is the commander in chief of the armed forces. The president appoints a Cabinet of Ministers, subject to approval by the Supreme Council. The Cabinet, headed by the prime minister, coordinates the day-to-day administration of the government and may introduce legislation to the Supreme Council. Cultural life Ukrainians take pride in their cultural tradition, which is part of a broader Slavic culture but retains a distinctive national flavour. In the countryside, outdoor festivals feature brightly coloured folk costumes, dance, and traditional music. Urban life is enriched by a large number of performing arts facilities and other cultural institutions created during the Soviet era. Literature Early developments Oral literature in Ukraine can be traced to pre-Christian times. Pagan ritual songs were subsequently much modified by association with various church feasts (e.g., kolyadky with the Christmas cycle). The heroic epics (byliny) of the early medieval period may have survived in Ukraine until the 16th century, but they were then wholly superseded by historical songs (dumy) based on events in the 16th and 17th centuries in Cossack Ukraine. Written literature began with Christianization and the introduction of Old Church Slavonic as a liturgical and literary language. The literary heritage of the Ukrainian people in the early period, from the 11th to the 13th century, is that of Kievan Rus; their works were written in Church Slavonic and are thus the common property of the Russians and Belarusians as well. The earliest works of the Kievan period (10th century and following) were the historical annals: Povist vremennykh lit (Tale of Bygone Years), the Hypatian (Kievan) chronicle, and the Galician-Volhynian chronicle. The 12th-century Slovo o polku Ihorevi (The Song of Igor's Campaign) is a unique historical epic written in the ornamental style. Sermons, tales, and lives of the saints were the major genres. The major authors of this period were the chronicler Nestor, the sermon writers Ilarion of Kiev and Cyril of Turov, and Prince Volodymyr (Vladimir) II Monomakh. After the Mongol destruction of Kievan Rus in the 13th century, literary activity in Ukraine declined. A revival began in the late 16th century with the introduction of printing, the Reformation ferment, and the advance of the Counter-Reformation into Polish-dominated Ukrainian lands. The Union of Brest-Litovsk (1596), which united several million Ukrainian and Belarusian Orthodox believers with Rome, stimulated an exceedingly rich polemical literature, with the Apocrisis (1598; Reply) of the pseudonymous Khrystofor Filalet and the anonymous Perestoroha (1605; Warning) on the Orthodox side and the Antirizis (1599; Refutation) of Ipaty Poty in the Uniat camp. The most distinguished and prolific polemicist was the Orthodox Ivan Vyshensky, whose ornate style combines Church Slavonic with vernacular elements. The major current in Ukrainian literature of the 17th and 18th centuries, as in all of Europe, was the Baroque, with its love of adornment and originality. Among the major figures of this age were Kasiyan Sakovych and Ivan Velychkovsky in verse, Yoaniky Galyatovsky in homiletics, and Teofan Prokopovych in drama. Historical writing is best represented by the Cossack chronicle of Samiylo Velychko (c. 1720). Of interest for their content and their literary qualities were the 18th-century writings of the philosopher Hryhory Skovoroda, styled the Ukrainian Socrates. After the fall of Kievan Rus in the 13th century, the Ukrainian language's distinctive dialectal characteristics emerged, but for many centuries thereafter the language had almost no literary expression, owing to Ukraine's long political subordination and the consequent use of Belarusian, Polish, Russian, and Church Slavonic for official purposes. The Ukrainian vernacular gradually became more prominent in writings in the 16th century, but this process was set back in the 17th and 18th centuries, when many Ukrainian authors wrote in Russian. It was not until the end of the 18th century that modern literary Ukrainian emerged out of the colloquial Ukrainian tongue, and an era of prolific writing began.