PrehistoricUkraine, as a part of thePontic steppe inEastern Europe, played an important role in Eurasian cultural events, including the spread of theChalcolithic andBronze Ages,Indo-European migrations, and thedomestication of the horse.[1][2][3]
A part ofScythia in antiquity, Ukraine was largely settled byGreuthungi,Getae,Goths, andHuns in theMigration Period, whilesouthern parts of Ukraine were previously colonized byGreeks and thenRomans. In theEarly Middle Ages it was also a site ofearly Slavic expansion. The hinterland entered into written history with the establishment of the medieval state ofKievan Rus', which emerged as a powerful nation but disintegrated during theHigh Middle Ages, andwas destroyed by theMongol Empire in the 13th century.
During the 14th and 15th centuries, present-day Ukrainian territories came under the rule of four external powers: theGolden Horde, theCrimean Khanate, theGrand Duchy of Lithuania and theCrown of the Kingdom of Poland. The latter two would then merge into thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth following theUnion of Krewo andUnion of Lublin. Meanwhile, theOttoman Empire emerged as a major regional power in and around theBlack Sea, through protectorates like the Crimean Khanate, as well as directly-administered territory.
After a 1648 rebellion of theCossacks against the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth,HetmanBohdan Khmelnytsky agreed to theTreaty of Pereyaslav in January 1654. The exact nature of the relationship established by this treaty between theCossack Hetmanate and Russia remains a matter of scholarly controversy.[4] The agreement precipitated theRusso-Polish War of 1654–67 and the failedTreaty of Hadiach, which would have formed aPolish–Lithuanian–Ruthenian Commonwealth. In consequence, by theTreaty of Perpetual Peace, signed in 1686, the eastern portion of Ukraine (east of theDnieper River) was to come under Russian rule,[5] 146,000rubles were to be paid to Poland as compensation for the loss ofright-bank Ukraine,[6] and the parties agreed not to sign a separate treaty with the Ottoman Empire.[6] The treaty was strongly opposed in Poland and was not ratified by thePolish–Lithuanian Sejm until 1710.[6][7] The legal legitimacy of its ratification has been disputed.[8] According toJacek Staszewski, the treaty was not confirmed by a resolution of the Sejm until its1764 session.[9]
During theGreat Northern War, HetmanIvan Mazepa allied withCharles XII of Sweden in 1708. However, theGreat Frost of 1709 greatly weakened the Swedish army. Following theBattle of Poltava later in 1709, there was a diminishment in Hetmanate power, culminating with the disestablishment of the Cossack Hetmanate in the 1760s and the destruction of theZaporozhian Sich in the 1770s. Following thePartitions of Poland (1772–1795) and the Russian conquest of the Crimean Khanate, theRussian Empire andHabsburg Austria were in control of all the territories that constitute present-day Ukraine for over a hundred years.Ukrainian nationalism developed in the 19th century.
Achaotic period of warfare ensued after theRussian Revolutions of 1917, as well asa simultaneous war in the formerKingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria following the dissolution of theHabsburg monarchy afterWorld War I. TheSoviet–Ukrainian War (1917–1921) followed, in which theBolshevikRed Army established control in late 1919.[10] The Ukrainian Bolsheviks, who had defeated thenational government inKyiv, established theUkrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, which on 30 December 1922 became one of the foundingrepublics of the Soviet Union. Initial Soviet policy on theUkrainian language andUkrainian culture made Ukrainian theofficial language of administration and schools. Policy in the 1930s turned toRussification. In 1932 and 1933, millions of people in Ukraine, mostly peasants, starved to death in a devastatingfamine, known as theHolodomor. It is estimated that 6 to 8 million people died from hunger in the Soviet Union during this period, of whom 4 to 5 million were Ukrainians.[11]
After the Soviet Union andNazi Germanyinvaded Poland in September 1939, the Ukrainian SSR's territoryexpanded westward.Axis armiesoccupied Ukraine from 1941 to 1944. DuringWorld War II, elements of theUkrainian Insurgent Army fought for Ukrainian independence against both Germany and the Soviet Union, while other elementscollaborated with the Nazis, assisting them in carrying outthe Holocaust in Ukraine and theiroppression of Poles. In 1953,Nikita Khrushchev, ethnicRussian former head of theCommunist Party of Ukraine, succeeded as head of theCommunist Party of the Soviet Union andenabled more political and cultural freedom, which led to aUkrainian revival. In 1954 the republic expanded to the south with thetransfer of Crimea from Russia. Nevertheless, political repressions against poets, historians and other intellectuals continued, as in all other parts of the USSR.
Ukraine became independent again when theSoviet Union dissolved in 1991. This started a period of transition to amarket economy, in which Ukraine suffered an eight-yearrecession.[12] Subsequently however, the economy experienced a high increase inGDP growth until it plunged during theGreat Recession.[13]
A prolonged political crisis began on 21 November 2013, when presidentViktor Yanukovych suspended preparations for the implementation ofan association agreement with theEuropean Union, instead choosing to seek closer ties withRussia. This decision resulted in theEuromaidan protests and later, theRevolution of Dignity. Yanukovych was then impeached by the Ukrainian parliament in February 2014. On 20 February, theRusso-Ukrainian War began when Russian forcesentered Crimea. Soon after, pro-Russianunrest enveloped the largelyRussophoneeastern andsouthern regions of Ukraine, from where Yanukovych had drawn most of his support. Aninternationally unrecognized referendum in the largely ethnic RussianUkrainian autonomous region ofCrimea was held and Crimea wasde facto annexed by Russia on 18 March 2014. TheWar in Donbas began inDonetsk andLuhansk oblasts of Ukraine involving the Russian military. The war continued until 24 February 2022, when Russia launched a majorinvasion of much of the country.
Settlement inUkraine by members of the genusHomo has been documented into distantPaleolithicprehistory. TheNeanderthals are associated with the Molodova archaeological sites (45,000–43,000 BC), which include amammoth bone dwelling.[14][15] The earliest documented evidence ofmodern humans are found inGravettian settlements dating to 32,000 BC in the Buran-Kaya cave site of theCrimean Mountains.[16][17]
In the lateNeolithic times, theCucuteni-Trypillian Culture flourished from about 4,500–3,000 BC.[18] TheCopper Age people of theCucuteni-Trypillian Culture resided in the western part, and theSredny Stog Culture further east, succeeded by the earlyBronze AgeYamna ("Kurgan") culture of thePontic steppes, and by theCatacomb culture in the 3rd millennium BC.[citation needed]
During theIron Age, these peoples were followed by theDacians as well asnomadic peoples like theCimmerians (archaeologicalNovocherkassk culture),Scythians andSarmatians. TheScythian kingdom existed here from 750 to 250 BC.[19] In theScythian campaign ofDarius the Great in 513 BC, theAchaemenid Persian army subjugated severalThracian peoples, and virtually all other regions along the European part of theBlack Sea, such as parts of nowadaysBulgaria,Romania, Ukraine, andRussia, before it returned toAsia Minor.[20][21]Greekscolonized Crimea andother coastal areas of Ukraine in the 7th or 6th century BC during theArchaic period.[22] Theculturally GreekBosporan Kingdom thrived until it was invaded and occupied by theGoths andHuns in the 4th century AD.[23] From 62 to 68 AD theRoman Empire briefly annexed the kingdom under EmperorNero when he deposed theBosporan kingTiberius Julius Cotys I.[24] Afterwards the Bosporan Kingdom was made into aRomanclient state with aRoman military presence during the middle of the 1st century AD.[25][26]
In the 3rd century AD, theGothsmigrated into the lands of modernUkraine around 250–375 AD, which they calledOium, corresponding to the archaeologicalChernyakhov culture.[27] TheOstrogoths stayed in the area but came under the sway of theHuns from the 370s. North of the Ostrogothic kingdom was theKyiv culture, flourishing from the 2nd–5th centuries, when it was also overrun by the Huns. After they helped defeat the Huns at thebattle of Nedao in 454, the Ostrogoths were allowed by the Romans to settle inPannonia.[citation needed] Along with otherancient Greek colonies founded in the 6th century BC on the northeastern shore of theBlack Sea, the colonies ofTyras,Olbia, andHermonassa continued asRoman andByzantine (Eastern Roman) cities until the 6th century AD.[citation needed] Gothic influence waned by the end of the 5th century AD, when theEastern Roman Empire reaffirmed its control and influence over the region.[28] TheHunnic kingGordas ruled the Bosporan kingdom in the early 6th century AD and maintained good relations with Eastern Roman emperorJustinian I, but the latter invaded and occupied the country once Gordas was killed in a revolt in 527 AD.[29] As late as the 12th century AD theEastern Roman emperors claimed dominion over the territory ofCimmerian Bosporos.[30]
With the power vacuum created with the end of Hunnic and Gothic rule,Early Slavs, in the aftermath of the Kyiv culture, began to expand over much of the territory that is nowUkraine during the 5th century, and beyond to theBalkans from the 6th century.[citation needed] Although the origins of theEarly Slavs are not known for certain, many theories suggest they may have originated nearPolesia.[31]
In the 5th and 6th centuries, theAntes Union (a tribal federation) is generally regarded to have been located in the territory of what is now Ukraine. The Antes were the ancestors ofUkrainians:White Croats,Severians,Polans,Drevlyans,Dulebes,Ulichians, andTiverians. Migrations from Ukraine throughout theBalkans established manySouth Slavic nations. Northern migrations, reaching almost toLake Ilmen, led to the emergence of theIlmen Slavs,Krivichs, andRadimichs, the groups ancestral to theRussians. After aPannonian Avar raid in 602 and the collapse of the Antes Union, most of these peoples survived as separate tribes until the beginning of the second millennium.[32]
In the 7th century, the territory of modern Ukraine was the core of the state of theBulgars (often referred to asOld Great Bulgaria) with its capital city ofPhanagoria. At the end of the 7th century, most Bulgar tribes migrated in several directions and the remains of their state were absorbed by theKhazars, a semi-nomadic people fromCentral Asia.[27]
The Khazars founded theKhazar kingdom near theCaspian Sea and theCaucasus. The kingdom included westernKazakhstan and parts ofCrimea, easternUkraine, southernRussia andAzerbaijan. The Khazars dominated enough of thePontic–Caspian steppe such that there was aPax Khazarica in terms of trade, which allowed long distance trade to occur in safety, including groups like theRadhanite Jews who traded as far as China toTabriz, as well as the trade networks that surroundedVolga Bulgaria. This attracted other traders such as theVikings in theViking Age who would foundKievan Rus'.[citation needed]
It is uncertain how the state ofKievan Rus' came to be, but theVarangian noblemanOleh the Wise is generally credited with having established a principality at the city of Kyiv somewhere around the year 880.[a]Kyiv had already been established, but its origins are nebulous as well. According to archaeologists and historians such asPetro Tolochko (2007), Slavic settlement existed from the end of the 5th century in the area that later developed into the city.[34] Kyiv may have paid tribute to theKhazars before Oleh conquered it.[35][36] Tolochko and other scholars also theorise that 'Kyiv was not the center of any particular tribe but the intertribal center of a vast realm'; critical analysis of thePrimary Chronicle,De Administrando Imperio and other sources suggests it may have been a cosmopolitan urban home to Slavic and non-Slavic groups, such as Scandinavian Varangians and Finno-Ugric peoples.[37] Slavic peoples that were reportedly native to Ukraine includedPolans (or Polianians),Drevlyans,Severians,Ulichs,Tiverians,White Croats andDulebes, but their precise identity and interrelationships are difficult to establish and verify, as the sources are vague, contradictory and at times inaccurate.[38]
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In the 10th and 11th century, Kyiv became one of the richest commercial centres ofEurope, and the Kievan Rus' empire around it steadily expanded.[39] Initially a benefactor of theworship of Slavic deities such asPerun,Volodimer I converted toOrthodox Christianity in the 980s, tying the realm into a political and ecclesiastical alliance with theByzantine Empire.[39] The reign ofYaroslav the Wise (r. 1019–1054) is generally regarded its zenith; Kievan Rus' was the most prosperous and powerful empire within Christendom.[39] Kievan Rus' was never a fully centralized state, but rather a loose aggregation of principalities ruled by members of theRurik dynasty.[40] In theLate Middle Ages, it became known in the rest of Europe asRuthenia (the Latin name for Rus'), especially for western principalities of Rus' after theMongol invasion.[citation needed]
WhileChristianity had made headway into the territory of modernUkraine before the first ecumenical council, theCouncil of Nicaea (325) (particularly along the Black Sea coast, with the clearest evidence being theChristianization of the Crimean Goths) and, in western Ukraine during the time of the Empire ofGreat Moravia, the formal governmental acceptance of Christianity in Rus' occurred in 988. The major promoter of theChristianization of Kievan Rus' was the Grand-DukeVladimir the Great whose grandmother,Princess Olga, was a Christian. Later the Kyivan ruler,Yaroslav I promulgated theRusskaya Pravda (Truth of Rus') which continued through the Lithuanian period of Rus'.[citation needed]
In 1322,Pope John XXII established adiocese inCaffa (modern day Feodosia), which broke apart the Diocese ofKhanbaliq (modern day Beijing), the only Catholic presence in the Mongol lands. For a few centuries it was the main see over an area from the Balkans toSarai.[41]
Conflict among the various principalities of Rus', in spite of the efforts of Grand PrinceVladimir Monomakh, led to decline, beginning in the 12th century. In Rus' propria, the Kyiv region, the nascent Rus' principalities ofHalych and Volhynia extended their rule. In the north, the name ofMoscow appeared in the historical record in thePrincipality of Suzdal, which gave rise to the nation of Russia. In the north-west, thePrincipality of Polotsk increasingly asserted the autonomy ofBelarus. Kyiv was sacked by thePrincipality of Vladimir (1169) in the power struggle between princes and later byCuman andMongol raiders in the 12th and 13th centuries, respectively. Subsequently, all principalities of present-day Ukraine acknowledged dependence upon the Mongols (1239–1240). In 1240, theMongols sacked Kyiv.
Asuccessor state to theKievan Rus' on part of the territory of today'sUkraine was thePrincipality of Galicia-Volhynia. Previously,Vladimir the Great had established the cities ofHalych andVolodymyr as regional capitals. The region was inhabited by theDulebe,Tiverian andWhite Croat tribes[citation needed]. Initially both Volhynia and Galicia were separate principalities, ruled by descendants ofYaroslav the Wise (Galicia byRostislavich dynasty, and Volhynia initially byIgorevich and eventually byIziaslavich dynasty).[42] During the ruleYaroslav Osmomysl (1153-1187) Galicia extended to the Black Sea.[42] Rulers of both principalites were trying to extend the rule over another. It was finally achieved byRoman the Great (1197-1205), who not only united both Galicia and Volhynia, but also extended his rule to Kyiv for a short period of time.[citation needed]
His death was followed by a period of turmoil that lasted until his sonDaniel regained the throne in 1238. Daniel managed to rebuild his father's state, including Kyiv. Daniel paid tribute to the Mongol khan, who appointed him baskak, responsible for collecting tribute from the Rus princes. In 1253 he was crowned by a papal delegation "King of Rus'" (Latin:rex Russiae); previously, the rulers of Rus' were termed "Grand Dukes" or "Princes."[citation needed]
From the 13th century, the many parts of the coast of present-day Ukraine were dominated by theRepublic of Genoa, which created numerouscolonies around the Black Sea, most of them situated in today'sOdesa Oblast. The Genoese colonies were well fortified, and there were garrisons in the fortresses and were used by the Genoese republic mainly for the purpose of dominating trade in the Black Sea. Genoa's dominance in the region would last until the 15th century.[43][44][45]
During the 14th century,Poland andLithuania fought wars against theMongol invaders, and eventually most of Ukraine passed to the rule of Poland and Lithuania. More particularly,Red Ruthenia, and part ofVolhynia andPodolia became part of Poland. King of Poland adopted the tile of "lord and heir of Ruthenia" (Latin:Russiae dominus et Heres[46]). Lithuania took control ofPolotsk,Volhynia,Chernihiv, and Kyiv followingBattle of Blue Waters (1362/63), and the rulers of Lithuania then adopted the title of ruler of Rus'.[citation needed]
After the downfall ofKyivan Rus' andGalicia–Volhynia, their political, cultural and religious life continued under Lithuanian control.[47] Ruthenian aristocrats, for example, theOlelkovich, joined the governing class of theGrand Duchy of Lithuania as members of thegrand duke'sprivy council, senior military leaders, and administrators.[47] DespiteLithuanian being the native language of the ruling class, the main written languages within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania wereLatin,Old Church Slavonic, as well asRuthenian, with East Slavonic Chancery being replaced byPolish in theearly modern period.[48]
Eventually, Poland took control of the southwestern region. Followingthe union between Poland and Lithuania,Poles,Germans,Lithuanians andJews migrated to the region, forcing Ukrainians out of positions of power they shared with Lithuanians, with more Ukrainians being forced into Central Ukraine as a result of Polish migration,polonization, and other forms of oppression against Ukraine and Ukrainians, all of which started to fully take form.[citation needed]
In 1490, due to increased oppression of Ukrainians at the hands of the Polish, a series of successful rebellions was led by UkrainianPetro Mukha, joined by other Ukrainians, such as earlyCossacks andHutsuls, in addition to Moldavians (Romanians). Known asMukha's Rebellion, this series of battles was supported by the Moldavian princeStephen the Great, and it is one of the earliest known uprisings of Ukrainians against Polish oppression. These rebellions saw the capture of several cities ofPokuttya, and reached as far west asLviv, but without capturing the latter.[49]
The 15th-century decline of theGolden Horde enabled the foundation of theCrimean Khanate, which occupied present-day Black Sea shores and southernsteppes of Ukraine. Until the late 18th century, the Crimean Khanate maintained a massiveslave trade with theOttoman Empire and theMiddle East,[50] exporting about 2 million slaves from Russia and Ukraine over the period 1500–1700.[51] It remained a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire until 1774, when it was finally dissolved by theRussian Empire in 1783.[citation needed]
After theUnion of Lublin in 1569 and the formation of thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Ukraine fell under the Polish administration, becoming part of theCrown of the Kingdom of Poland. The period immediately following the creation of the Commonwealth saw a huge revitalisation in colonisation efforts. Many new cities and villages were founded & links between different Ukrainian regions, such asHalych Land andVolhynia were greatly extended.[52]
New schools spread the ideas of theRenaissance; Polish peasants arrived in great numbers and quickly became mixed with the local population; during this time, most Ukrainian nobles becamepolonised and converted toCatholicism, and while mostRuthenian-speaking peasants remained within theEastern Orthodox Church, social tension rose. Some of the polonized mobility would heavily shape Polish culture, for eample,Stanisław Orzechowski.[citation needed]
Ruthenian peasants who fled efforts to force them intoserfdom came to be known asCossacks and earned a reputation for their fierce martial spirit. Some Cossacks wereenlisted by the Commonwealth as soldiers to protect the southeastern borders of Commonwealth fromTatars or took part in campaigns abroad (likePetro Konashevych-Sahaidachny in the battle ofKhotyn 1621). Cossack units were also active in wars between thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth andTsardom of Russia. Despite the Cossack's military usefulness, the Commonwealth,dominated by itsnobility, refused to grant them any significant autonomy, instead attempting to turn most of the Cossack population intoserfs. This led to an increasing number ofCossack rebellions aimed at the Commonwealth.[citation needed]
| Voivodeship | Square kilometers | Population (est.) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Galicia | 45,000 | 446,000 | |
| Volhynia | 42,000 | 294,000 | |
| Podilia | 19,000 | 98,000 | |
| Bratslav | 35,000 | 311,000 | |
| Kyiv | 117,000 | 234,000 | |
| Belz (two regions) | Kholm | 19,000 | 133,000 |
| Pidliassia | 10,000 | 233,000 | |
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The 1648 UkrainianCossack (Kozak) rebellion orKhmelnytsky Uprising, which started an era known as theRuin (inPolish history as theDeluge), undermined the foundations and stability of the Commonwealth. The nascent Cossack state, theCossack Hetmanate,[54] usually viewed as precursor of Ukraine,[54] found itself in a three-sided military and diplomatic rivalry with theOttoman Turks, who controlled the Tatars to the south, the Commonwealth of Poland and Lithuania, and theTsardom of Russia to the East.[citation needed]
TheZaporozhian Host, in order to leave thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, sought a treaty of protection with Russia in 1654.[54] This agreement was known as thePereiaslav Agreement.[54] Commonwealth authorities then sought compromise with the Ukrainian Cossack state by signing theTreaty of Hadiach in 1658, but—afterthirteen years of incessant warfare—the agreement was later superseded by the 1667 Polish–RussianTruce of Andrusovo, which divided Ukrainian territory between the Commonwealth and Russia. Under Russia, the Cossacks initially retained official autonomy in theHetmanate.[54] For a time, they also maintained a semi-independent republic inZaporizhzhia and a colony on the Russian frontier inSloboda Ukraine.
In 1686, theMetropolitanate of Kyiv wasannexed by the Moscow Patriarchate through the Synodal Letter of theEcumenical Patriarch of ConstantinopleDionysius IV.[citation needed]
During subsequent decades, Tsarist rule over central Ukraine gradually replaced 'protection'. Sporadic Cossack uprisings were now aimed at the Russian authorities, but eventually petered out by the late 18th century, following the destruction of entireCossack hosts. After thePartitions of Poland in 1772, 1793 and 1795,the extreme west of Ukraine fellunder the control of theAustrians, withthe rest becoming a part of the Russian Empire. As a result of theRusso-Turkish Wars, theOttoman Empire's control receded from south-central Ukraine, while the rule ofHungary over the Transcarpathian region continued. Ukrainian writers and intellectualswere inspired by the nationalistic spirit stirring other European peoples existing under other imperial governments and became determined to revive theUkrainian linguistic and cultural traditions and re-establish a Ukrainian nation-state, a movement that became known asUkrainophilism.[citation needed]
Russia, fearing separatism, imposed strict limits on attempts to elevate theUkrainian language and culture, even banning its use and study: in 1863, theValuev Circular banned the use of Ukrainian in religious and educational literature, in 1876, theEms Ukaz outlawed Ukrainian-language publications outright, as well as the import of texts published abroad in Ukrainian, the use of Ukrainian in theatrical productions and public readings, the use of Ukrainian in schools.[55] TheRussophile policies ofRussification andPanslavism led to an exodus of a number of Ukrainian intellectuals into Western Ukraine. However, many Ukrainians accepted their fate in theRussian Empire and some were able to achieve great success there.[citation needed]
The fate of the Ukrainians was far different under theAustrian Empire where they found themselves in the pawn position of the Russian–Austrian power struggle for Central and Southern Europe. Unlike in Russia, most of the elite that ruled Galicia were of Austrian or Polish descent, with the Ruthenians being almost exclusively kept in peasantry. During the 19th century,Russophilia was a common occurrence among the Slavic population, but the mass exodus of Ukrainian intellectuals escaping from Russian repression in Eastern Ukraine, as well as the intervention of Austrian authorities, caused the movement to be replaced byUkrainophilia, which would then cross over into the Russian Empire. With the start ofWorld War I, all thosesupporting Russia were rounded up by Austrian forces and held in a concentration camp atTalerhof where many died.[citation needed]
Ukraine emerges as the concept of a nation, and theUkrainians as a nationality, with theUkrainian National Revival in the mid-18th century, in the wake of thepeasant revolt of 1768/1769 and the eventualpartition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.Galicia fell to theAustrian Empire, and the rest of Ukraine to theRussian Empire.[citation needed]
Whileright-bank Ukraine belonged to thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth until late 1793,left-bank Ukraine had been incorporated intoTsardom of Russia in 1667 (under theTreaty of Andrusovo). In 1672,Podolia was occupied by the TurkishOttoman Empire, whileKyiv andBraclav came under the control ofHetmanPetro Doroshenko until 1681, when they were also captured by the Turks, but in 1699 theTreaty of Karlowitz returned those lands to the Commonwealth.[citation needed]
Most of Ukraine fell to the Russian Empire under the reign ofCatherine the Great; theCrimean Khanate wasannexed by Russia in 1783, following theEmigration of Christians from Crimea in 1778, and in 1793 right-bank Ukraine was annexed by Russia in theSecond Partition of Poland.[56]
Ukrainian writers and intellectualswere inspired by the nationalistic spirit stirring other European peoples existing under other imperial governments. Russia, fearing separatism, imposed strict limits on attempts to elevate theUkrainian language and culture, even banning its use and study. TheRussophile policies ofRussification andPanslavism led to an exodus of a number some Ukrainian intellectuals into Western Ukraine, while others embraced a Pan-Slavic or Russian identity.[citation needed]
Ukraine under the reign ofAlexander I (1801–1825) saw Russian presence only involving the imperial army and its bureaucracy, but by the reign ofNicholas I (1825–1855), Russia had by then established a centralized administration in Ukraine. After suppressing theNovember Uprising of 1830, the tsarist regime instituted Russification policies on theRight Bank.[57]
The 2.4 million Ukrainians under the Habsburg Empire lived in eastern Galicia and consisted mainly of the peasantry (95%) with the remainder being priestly families. The Galician nobility were majoritively Poles or Polonized Ukrainians. Development here lagged behind Russian-ruled Ukraine and was one of the poorest regions in Europe.[57]
The rise in national consciousness arose in the 19th century, with representation of the intelligentsia declining among the nobles and increasing towards commoners and peasants, they saw a process of nation-building to improve national rights and social justice but was uncovered soon after by the tsarist authorities. After the1848 revolutions, Ukrainians established theSupreme Ruthenian Council, demanding autonomy, they also opened the first Ukrainian-language newspaper (Zoria halytska). The 1861emancipation greatly impacted Ukrainians as 42% of them were serfs. During the late 19th century, heavy taxes, rapid population growth and lack of land impoverished the peasantry. However thesteppe regions managed to produce 20% of world production of wheat and 80% of the empire's sugar. Later, industrialization arrived with the first railway track constructed in 1866. Ukraine's economy by now was integrated into the imperial system and it saw much urban development.[57]
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Historian Paul Kubicek says:
Canadian scholarOrest Subtelny says:
TheUkrainian War of Independence of 1917 to 1921 produced theMakhnovshchina,Ukrainian People's Republic,Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, andWest Ukrainian People's Republic, among other short-lived states, which were mostly subsumed in theSoviet Union, although Western Ukraine ended up inPoland.[60][61]
TheSoviet famine of 1930–33, now known as theHolodomor, left millions dead in the Soviet Union, the majority of them Ukrainians not only in Ukraine but also in Kuban and former Don Cossack lands.[62][63]
The Second World War began in September 1939, when Hitler and Stalin invaded Poland, the Soviet Uniontaking most of Eastern Poland.Nazi Germany withits alliesinvaded the Soviet Union in 1941. Between 4.5 and 6 million Ukrainians fought in the Soviet Army against the Nazis.[64] Some Ukrainians initially regarded theWehrmacht soldiers as liberators from Soviet rule, while others formed apartisan movement. Some elements of theUkrainian nationalist underground formed aUkrainian Insurgent Army that fought both Soviet forces and the Nazis. Others collaborated with the Germans. The pro-Polish trend in the Ukrainian national movement, declaring loyalty to theSecond Polish Republic and in return demandingautonomy for Ukrainians (e.g.Ukrainian National Democratic Alliance), became marginalized, mainly due to its rejection by the Polish side, where supporters offorced assimilation of Ukrainians into Polish culture dominated.[65] Some 1.5 million Jews were murdered by the Nazis during their occupation.[66] In Volhynia, Ukrainian fighters committed amassacre against up to 100,000 Polish civilians.[67] Residual small groups of the UPA-partizans acted near the Polish and Soviet border as long as to the 1950s.[68]Galicia,Volhynia,South Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina, andCarpathian Ruthenia that were annexed as a result of theMolotov–Ribbentrop Pact in 1939 were added to the Ukrainian SSR.
After World War II, some amendments to the Constitution of theUkrainian SSR were accepted, which allowed it to act as a separate subject ofinternational law in some cases and to a certain extent, remaining a part of the Soviet Union at the same time. In particular, these amendments allowed the Ukrainian SSR to become one of the founding members of theUnited Nations (UN) together with the Soviet Union and theByelorussian SSR. This was part of a deal with theUnited States to ensure a degree of balance in theGeneral Assembly, which, the USSR opined, was unbalanced in favor of the Western Bloc. In its capacity as a member of the UN, the Ukrainian SSR wasan elected member of theUnited Nations Security Council in 1948–1949 and 1984–1985.[citation needed]TheCrimean Oblastwas transferred from theRSFSR to the Ukrainian SSR in 1954.[69]
With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine became an independent state, formalised with areferendum in December 1991. On 21 January 1990, over 300,000 Ukrainians[70] organized ahuman chain for Ukrainian independence betweenKyiv andLviv. Ukraine officiallydeclared itself an independent country on 24 August 1991, when the communist Supreme Soviet (parliament) of Ukraine proclaimed that Ukraine would no longer follow the laws of USSR and only the laws of the Ukrainian SSR, de facto declaring Ukraine's independence from the Soviet Union. On 1 December, voters approved areferendum formalizing independence from the Soviet Union. Over 90% of Ukrainian citizens voted for independence, with majorities in every region, including 56% inCrimea. The Soviet Union formally ceased to exist on 26 December, when the presidents of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia (the founding members of the USSR) met inBiałowieża Forest toformally dissolve the Union in accordance with the Soviet Constitution. With this, Ukraine's independence was formalized de jure and recognized by the international community.[citation needed]
Also on 1 December 1991, Ukrainian voters in theirfirst presidential election electedLeonid Kravchuk.[71] During his presidency, theUkrainian economyshrank by more than 10% per year (in 1994 by more than 20%).[71] The presidency (1994–2005) of the 2nd President of Ukraine,Leonid Kuchma, was surrounded by numerous corruption scandals and the lessening of media freedoms, including theCassette Scandal.[71][72] During Kuchma's presidency, the economy recovered, withGDP growth at around 10% a year in his last years in office.[71]
In 2004, Kuchma announced that he would not run for re-election. Two major candidates emerged in the2004 presidential election.Viktor Yanukovych,[73] the incumbent Prime Minister, supported by both Kuchma and by the Russian Federation, wanted closer ties with Russia. The main opposition candidate,Viktor Yushchenko, called for Ukraine to turn its attention westward and aim to eventually join the EU.In the runoff election, Yanukovych officially won by a narrow margin, but Yushchenko and his supporters alleged that vote rigging and intimidation cost him many votes, especially in eastern Ukraine. A political crisis erupted after the opposition started massive streetprotests in Kyiv and other cities ("Orange Revolution"), and theSupreme Court of Ukraine ordered the election results null and void. A second runoff foundViktor Yushchenko the winner. Five days later, Yanukovych resigned from office and his cabinet was dismissed on 5 January 2005.[citation needed]
During the Yushchenko term,relations between Russia and Ukraine often appeared strained as Yushchenko looked towards improvedrelations with theEuropean Union and less toward Russia.[74] In 2005, a highly publicizeddispute over natural gas prices with Russia caused shortages in many European countries that were reliant on Ukraine as a transit country.[75] A compromise was reached in January 2006.[75]
By the time of thepresidential election of 2010, Yushchenko andYulia Tymoshenko — allies during the Orange Revolution[76] — had become bitter enemies.[71] Tymoshenko ran for president against both Yushchenko and Viktor Yanukovych, creating a three-way race. Yushchenko, whose popularity had plummeted,[74] persisted in running, and many pro-Orange voters stayed home.[77] In the second round of the election, Yanukovych won the run-off ballot with 48% to Tymoshenko's 45%.[78]
During his presidency (2010–2014), Yanukovych and hisParty of Regions were accused of trying to create a "controlled democracy" in Ukraine and of trying to destroy the main opposition partyBloc Yulia Tymoshenko, but both have denied these charges.[79] One frequently cited example of Yanukovych's attempts to centralise power wasthe 2011 sentencing of Yulia Tymoshenko, which has been condemned by Western governments as potentially being politically motivated.[80]
In November 2013, President Yanukovych did not sign theUkraine–European Union Association Agreement and instead pursued closer ties with Russia.[81][82] This move sparkedprotests on the streets of Kyiv and, ultimately, theRevolution of Dignity. Protesters set up camps inKyiv'sMaidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square),[83] and in December 2013 and January 2014 protesters startedtaking over various government buildings, first in Kyiv, and later inWestern Ukraine.[84]Battles between protesters and police resulted in about 80 deaths in February 2014.[85][86]
Following the violence, the Ukrainian parliament on 22 February voted to remove Yanukovych from power (on the grounds that his whereabouts were unknown and he thus could not fulfil his duties), and to free Yulia Tymoshenko from prison. On the same day, Yanukovych supporterVolodymyr Rybak resigned as speaker of the Parliament, and was replaced by Tymoshenko loyalistOleksandr Turchynov, who was subsequently installed as interim President.[87] Yanukovych had fled Kyiv, and subsequently gave a press conference in the Russian city ofRostov-on-Don.[88]
On 1 January 2016, Ukraine joined theDCFTA with the EU. Ukrainian citizens were grantedvisa-free travel to theSchengen Area for up to 90 days during any 180-day period on 11 June 2017, and the Association Agreement formally came into effect on 1 September 2017.[89] Significant achievements in the foreign policy arena include support for anti-Russian sanctions, obtaining a visa-free regime with the countries of theEuropean Union, and better recognition of the need to overcome extremely difficult tasks within the country. However, the old local authorities did not want any changes; they were cleansed of anti-Maidan activists (lustration), but only in part. The fight against corruption was launched, but was limited to sentences of petty officials and electronic declarations, and the newly establishedNABU andNACP were marked by scandals in their work. Judicial reform was combined with the appointment of old, compromised judges. The investigation of crimes against Maidan residents was delayed. In order to counteract the massive globalRussian anti-Ukrainian propaganda of the "information war", theMinistry of Information Policy was created, which for 5 years did not show effective work, except for the ban onKaspersky Lab,Dr.Web,1С,Mail.ru,Yandex and Russian social networksVKontakte orOdnoklassniki and propaganda media. In 2017, the president signed the law "On Education", which met with opposition from national minorities, and quarreled with theGovernment of Hungary.[citation needed] At the same time, the economic situation continued deterirating, mainly due to the widespread corruption. By 2018 Ukraine became the poorest country of Europe, with the GDP per capita below $3,000.[90]
On May 19, 2018, Poroshenko signed a Decree which put into effect the decision of the National Security and Defense Council on the final termination of Ukraine's participation in the statutory bodies of theCommonwealth of Independent States.[91][92] As of February 2019, Ukraine minimized its participation in the Commonwealth of Independent States to a critical minimum and effectively completed its withdrawal. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine did not ratify the accession, i.e. Ukraine has never been a member of the CIS.[93]
On January 6, 2019, inFener, a delegation of theOrthodox Church of Ukraine with the participation of President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenkoreceived aTomos onautocephaly. The Tomos was presented to the head of the OCU,Metropolitan Epiphanius, during a joint liturgy with theEcumenical Patriarch.[94] The next day, Tomos was brought to Ukraine for a demonstration atSt. Sophia Cathedral. On January 9, all members of theSynod of theConstantinople Orthodox Church signed the Tomos during the scheduled meeting of the Synod.[citation needed]
On February 21, 2019, theConstitution of Ukraine was amended, with the norms on the strategic course of Ukraine for membership in theEuropean Union andNATO being enshrined in the preamble of the Basic Law, three articles and transitional provisions.[95]
On 21 April 2019,Volodymyr Zelenskyy was elected president in the second round of the presidential election. Earlyparliamentary elections on July 21 allowed the newly formed pro-presidentialServant of the People party to win an absolute majority of seats for the first time in the history of independent Ukraine (248).Dmytro Razumkov, the party's chairman, was elected speaker of parliament. The majority was able to form a government on August 29 on its own, without forming coalitions, and approvedOleksii Honcharuk as prime minister.[96] On March 4, 2020, due to a 1.5% drop in GDP (instead of a 4.5% increase at the time of the election), the Verkhovna Rada firedHoncharuk's government andDenys Shmyhal[97] became the new Prime Minister.[98]
On July 28, 2020, inLublin,Lithuania,Poland and Ukraine created theLublin Triangle initiative, which aims to create further cooperation between the three historical countries of thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and further Ukraine's integration and accession to theEU andNATO.[99]
On May 17, 2021, theAssociation Trio was formed by signing a joint memorandum between theForeign Ministers of Georgia,Moldova andUkraine. Association Trio is tripartite format for the enhanced cooperation, coordination, and dialogue between the three countries (that have signed the Association Agreement with the EU) with theEuropean Union on issues of common interest related toEuropean integration, enhancing cooperation within the framework of theEastern Partnership, and committing to the prospect of joining the European Union.[100]
At the June2021 Brussels Summit, NATO leaders reiterated the decision taken at the2008 Bucharest Summit that Ukraine would become a member of the Alliance with the Membership Action Plan (MAP) as an integral part of the process and Ukraine's right to determine its own future and foreign policy without outside interference.[101]
Ukraine was originally preparing to formally apply forEU membership in 2024, but instead signed an application for membership in February 2022.[102]
In March 2014, theAnnexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation occurred. Though official results of areferendum on Crimean reunification with Russia were reported as showing a large majority in favor of the proposition, the vote was organized under Russian military occupation and was denounced by the European Union and theUnited States as illegal.[103]
The Crimean crisis was followed bypro-Russian unrest ineast Ukraine andsouth Ukraine.[104] In April 2014 Ukrainian separatistsself-proclaimed theDonetsk People's Republic andLugansk People's Republic and heldreferendums on 11 May 2014; the separatists claimed nearly 90% voted in favor of independence.[105][104] Later in April 2014, fighting between theUkrainian army andpro-Ukrainian volunteer battalions on one side, and forces supporting the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics on the other side, escalated into thewar in Donbas.[104][106] By December 2014, more than 6,400 people had died in this conflict, and according toUnited Nations figures it led to over half a million people becominginternally displaced within Ukraine and two hundred thousand refugees to flee to (mostly)Russia and other neighboring countries.[107][108][109][110] During the same period, political (including adoption ofthe law on lustration andthe law on decommunization) and economic reforms started.[111] On 25 May 2014,Petro Poroshenko was elected president[112] in the first round of the presidential election. By the second half of 2015, independent observers noted that reforms in Ukraine had considerably slowed down,corruption did not subside, and theeconomy of Ukraine was still in a deep crisis.[111][113][114][115] By December 2015, more than 9,100 people had died (largely civilians) in the war in Donbas,[116] according to United Nations figures.[117]
On February 2, 2021, a presidential decree banned the television broadcasting of the pro-Russian TV channels112 Ukraine, NewsOne and ZIK.[118][119] The decision of the National Security and Defense Council and the Presidential Decree of February 19, 2021 imposed sanctions on 8 individuals and 19 legal entities, including Putin's pro-Russian politician andPutin's godfatherViktor Medvedchuk and his wife Oksana Marchenko.[120][121]
TheKerch Strait incident occurred on 25 November 2018 when theRussianFederal Security Service (FSB)coast guard fired upon and captured threeUkrainian Navy vessels attempting to pass from theBlack Sea into theSea of Azov through theKerch Strait on their way to the port ofMariupol.[122][123]
Throughout 2021, Russian forces built up along theRussia-Ukraine Border, in occupied Crimea and Donbas, and in Belarus.[124] On February 24, 2022, Russian forcesinvaded Ukraine.[125] Russia quickly occupied much of theeast andsouth of the country, but failed to advance past the city ofMykolaiv towardsOdesa, and were forced to retreat from thenorth after failing to occupyKyiv,Chernihiv,Sumy, andKharkiv.[126] After failing to gain further territories and being driven out ofKharkiv Oblast by a fast-pacedUkrainian counteroffensive,[127] Russia officially annexed theDonetsk People's Republic and theLuhansk People's Republic, along with most of theKherson andZaporizhzhia Oblasts on 30 September.[128]
On the eve of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the country wasthe poorest in Europe,[129] a handicap whose cause was attributed to highcorruption levels[130] and the slow pace ofeconomic liberalization andinstitutional reform.[131][132][133][134] Russia's invasion of the country damaged Ukraine's economy and future prospects of improvement to such an extent, that the GDP of the country was projected to shrink by as much as 35% in its first year alone after the invasion.[135]
 | It has been suggested that this section besplit out into another article titledUkrainian historiography. (Discuss)(November 2023) |
Knowledge about Ukraine in other parts of the world came chiefly from Russian secondary sources until relatively recently. After the second half of the seventeenth century, when Muscovy and later the Russian Empire came to control much of Ukrainian territory, Russian writers included Ukraine as part of Russian history. This included referring to medievalKyivan Rus as "Kievan Russia" and itsOld East Slavic culture and inhabitants as "Kievan Russian" or "Old Russian". Later Ukraine or its parts were called "Little Russia", "South Russia", "West Russia" (with Belarus), or "New Russia" (the Black Sea coast and southeasternsteppe). But parts of Ukraine beyond Russia's reach were calledRuthenia and its peopleRuthenians. The names chosen to refer to Ukraine and Ukrainians have often reflected a certain political position, and sometimes even to deny the existence of Ukrainian nationality.[27]: 10–11 The Russian point-of-view of Ukrainian history became the prevailing one in Western academia, and although the bias was identified as early as the 1950s, many scholars of Slavic studies and history believe significant changes are still necessary to correct the Moscow-centric view.[136]
The scholarly study of Ukraine's history emerged from romantic impulses in the late 19th century whenGerman Romanticism spread to Eastern Europe. The outstanding leaders wereVolodymyr Antonovych (1834–1908), based in Kyiv, and his studentMykhailo Hrushevsky (1866–1934).[137] The first serious challenge to the Russian view of Ukraine was Hrushevsky's 1904 article "The Traditional Scheme of 'Russian' History and the Problem of the Rational organization of the History of the Eastern Slavs".[138] For the first time full-scale scholarly studies based on archival sources, modern research techniques, and modern historical theories became possible. However, the demands of government officials—Tsarist, to a lesser degree Austro-Hungarian and Polish, and later Soviet—made it difficult to disseminate ideas that ran counter to the central government. Therefore, exile schools of historians emerged in central Europe and Canada after 1920.[citation needed]
Strikingly different interpretations of the medieval state of Kyivan Rus appear in the four schools of historiography within Ukraine:Russophile,Sovietophile, Eastern Slavic, andUkrainophile. In the Soviet Union, there was a radical break after 1921, led byMikhail Pokrovsky. Until 1934, history was generally not regarded as chauvinistic, but was rewritten in the style ofMarxist historiography. National "pasts" were rewritten as social and national liberation for non-Russians, and social liberation for Russians, in a process that ended in 1917. Under Stalin, the state and its official historiography were given a distinct Russian character and a certain Russocentrism. Imperial history was rewritten such that non-Russian love caused an emulation and deference to "join" the Russian people by becoming part of the (tsarist) Russian state, and in return, Russian state interests were driven by altruism and concern for neighboring people.[139] Russophile and Sovietophile schools have become marginalized in independent Ukraine, with the Ukrainophile school being dominant in the early 21st century. The Ukrainophile school promotes an identity that is mutually exclusive of Russia. It has come to dominate the nation's educational system, security forces, and national symbols and monuments, although it has been dismissed as nationalist by Western historians. The East Slavic school, an eclectic compromise between Ukrainophiles and Russophilism, has a weaker ideological and symbolic base, although it is preferred by Ukraine's centrist former elites.[140]
Many historians in recent years have sought alternatives to national histories, and Ukrainian history invited approaches that looked beyond a national paradigm. Multiethnic history recognises the numerous peoples in Ukraine;transnational history portrays Ukraine as a border zone for various empires; andarea studies categorises Ukraine as part of East-Central Europe or, less often, as part of Eurasia.Serhii Plokhy argues that looking beyond the country's national history has made possible a richer understanding of Ukraine, its people, and the surrounding regions.[141] since 2015, there has been renewed interest in integrating a "territorial-civic" and "linguistic-ethnic" history of Ukraine. For example, the history of theCrimean Tatars and the more distant history of theCrimea peninsula is now integrated into Ukrainian school history. This is part of the constitutionally mandated "people of Ukraine" rather than "Ukrainian people". Slowly, the histories of Poles and Jews are also being reintegrated. However, due to the current political climate caused by territorial sovereignty breaches by Russia, the role of Russians as "co-host" has been greatly minimized, and there are still unresolved difficult issues of the past, for example, the role of Ukrainians during the Holodomor.[142]
After 1991, historical memory was a powerful tool in the political mobilization and legitimation of the post-Soviet Ukrainian state, as well as the division of selectively used memory along the lines of the political division of Ukrainian society. Ukraine did not experience the restorationist paradigm typical of some other post-Soviet nations, for example thethree Baltic countries —Lithuania,Latvia, andEstonia, although the multifaceted history of independence, theOrthodox Church in Ukraine, Soviet-era repressions,mass famine, and World War II collaboration were used to provide a different constitutive frame for developing Ukrainian nationhood. Thepolitics of identity (which includes the production of history textbooks and the authorization of commemorative practices) has remained fragmented and tailored to reflect the ideological anxieties and concerns of individual regions of Ukraine.[143]
In Soviet Ukraine, twentieth-century historians were strictly limited in the range of models and topics they could cover, with Moscow insisting on an officialMarxist approach. However, émigréUkrainians in Canada developed an independent scholarship that ignored Marxism, and shared the Western tendencies in historiography.[144]George W. Simpson andOrest Subtelny were leaders promoting Ukrainian studies in Canadian academe.[145] The lack of independence in Ukraine meant that traditional historiographical emphases on diplomacy and politics were handicapped. The flourishing of social history after 1960 opened many new approaches for researchers in Canada; Subtelny used themodernization model. Later historiographical trends were quickly adapted to the Ukrainian evidence, with special focus on Ukrainian nationalism. The new cultural history,post-colonial studies, and the "linguistic turn" augmenting, if not replacingsocial history, allowed for multiple angles of approach. By 1991, historians in Canada had freely explored a wide range of approaches regarding the emergence of anational identity. After independence, a high priority in Canada was assisting in the freeing of Ukrainian scholarship from Soviet-Marxist orthodoxy—which downplayed Ukrainian nationalism and insisted that true Ukrainians were always trying to reunite with Russia. Independence from Moscow meant freedom from an orthodoxy that was never well suited to Ukrainian developments. Scholars in Ukraine welcomed the "national paradigm" that Canadian historians had helped develop. Since 1991, the study of Ukrainiannation-building became an increasingly global and collaborative enterprise, with scholars from Ukraine studying and working in Canada, and with conferences on related topics attracting scholars from around the world.[146]
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{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}:|work= ignored (help){{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Since 1991, officials, members of parliament and businessmen have created complex and highly lucrative schemes to plunder the state budget. The theft has crippled Ukraine. The economy was as large as Poland's at independence, now it is a third of the size. Ordinary Ukrainians have seen their living standards stagnate, while a handful of oligarchs have become billionaires.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link){{cite book}}:|journal= ignored (help) Media related toHistory of Ukraine at Wikimedia Commons