| Act of Declaration ofIndependence of Ukraine | |
|---|---|
 Typewritten version of the act | |
| Original title | Ukrainian:Акт проголошення незалежності України |
| Created | 24 August 1991 |
| Ratified | 24 August 1991 |
| Location | Central State Archive of the higher governing bodies of Ukraine,Kyiv |
| Author | Levko Lukianenko |
| Signatories | Leonid Kravchuk |
| Purpose | Declaration of independence |
| Full text | |
 Act of Declaration of Independence of Ukraine atWikisource | |
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 Ukraine portal |
TheAct of Declaration of Independence of Ukraine[a] was adopted by theSupreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR (Verkhovna Rada) on 24 August 1991.[1]
The Act reestablishedUkraine's state independence from theSoviet Union.[2][1] The declaration was affirmed by a majority of Ukrainians in all regions of Ukraine by anindependence referendum on 1 December, followed by international recognition starting on the following day. Ukrainian independence led to thedissolution of the Soviet Union by 26 December 1991.
The Act was adopted in the aftermath of thecoup attempt in the Soviet Union on 19 August, when hardlineCommunist leaders attempted to restorecentral Communist party control over the USSR.[1] In response (during a tense 11-hour extraordinary session),[3] theSupreme Soviet (parliament) of theUkrainian SSR, in a special Saturday session, overwhelmingly approved the Act of Declaration.[1] The Act passed with 321 votes in favor, 2 votes against, and 6abstentions (out of 360 attendants).[3] The text was largely composed during the night of 23 August–24 August mainly byLevko Lukianenko,Serhiy Holovatyi,Mykhailo Horyn, Ivan Zayets andVyacheslav Chornovil.[4]
TheCommunist Party of Ukraine (CPU), with the campaigning behind the scenes by its fellow Party member andUkrainian Supreme Soviet ChairmanLeonid Kravchuk,[4] felt compelled to support the Act in order to distance itself from the coup.[3] CPUFirst SecretaryStanislav Hurenko argued that "it will be a disaster" if the CPU were to fail to support independence.[3] CPU members had been unnerved by the news of former Ukrainian SSR party leaderVladimir Ivashko's arrest in Moscow, the re-subordination of theSoviet Army under the leaders of theRussian SFSR and the sealing of theSoviet Communist Party Central Committee's premises.[4]
The same day (24 August), the parliament called for areferendum on support for the Declaration of Independence.[1][3] The proposal for calling the national referendum came jointly fromopposition leadersIhor Yukhnovsky andDmytro Pavlychko.[3] The Parliament also voted for the creation of anational guard of Ukraine and turned jurisdiction over all the armed forces located on Ukrainian territory over to itself.[3]
Other than a noisy crowd that had gathered at the Parliament building, the streets ofKyiv were quiet that day, with few signs of open celebration.[3]
In the days that followed, a number of resolutions and decrees were passed: nationalizing all CPU property and handing it over to theSupreme Soviet and local councils; issuing an amnesty for all political prisoners; suspending all CPU activities and freezing CPU assets and bank accounts pending official investigations into possible collaboration with the Moscow coup plotters; setting up a committee of inquiry into official behavior during the coup; and establishing a committee on military matters related to the creation of aMinistry of Defense of Ukraine.[3]
On 26 August 1991, the Permanent Representative of theUkrainian SSR to theUnited Nations (Soviet Ukraine being afounding member of the United Nations),[5]Hennadiy Udovenko, informed the office of theSecretary General of the United Nations that his permanent mission to this international assembly would officially be designated as representing Ukraine.[5][6] That same day, theexecutive committee of Kyiv also voted to remove all themonuments of Communist heroes from public places, including the Lenin monument in the central October Revolution Square.[3] The committee decided that the large square would be renamedMaidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) as would thecentral Metro station below it.[3]
Two days later, more than 200,000Lviv andLviv oblast residents declared their readiness to serve in thenational guard.[7]
In theindependence referendum on 1 December 1991, the people of Ukraine expressed deep and widespread support for the Act of Declaration of Independence, with more than 90% voting in favor, and 84% of the electorate participating.[1][8] The referendum took place on the same day as Ukraine'sfirst direct presidential election; all six presidential candidates supported independence and campaigned for a "yes" vote. The referendum's passage ended any realistic chance of the Soviet Union remaining together even on a limited scale; Ukraine had long been second only to Russia in economic and political power in the USSR.
A week after the election, newly elected presidentLeonid Kravchuk joined his Russian and Belarusian counterparts (Boris Yeltsin andStanislav Shushkevich, respectively) in signing theBelovezh Accords, which declared that the Soviet Union had ceased to exist.[9] The Soviet Unionofficially dissolved on 26 December.[10]
Since 1992, the 24th of August is celebrated in Ukraine asIndependence Day.[11]
Poland andCanada were the first countries to recognize Ukraine's independence, both on 2 December 1991.[12][13][14] On the same day (2 December) it was reported during the late-evening airing of the television news programVesti that thePresident of the Russian SFSR, Boris Yeltsin, had recognized Ukraine's independence.[15]
TheUnited States did so on 25 December 1991.[16][17] That month the independence of Ukraine was recognized by 68 states, and in 1992 it was recognized by another 64 states.[18]
In January 1992, U.S. PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush approved a program of American humanitarian support for Ukraine and the rest of the former USSR, supervised by the Secretary of Defense.[19]
By the end of 1991 there was widespread international recognition.[12][13][14][20][16][17][18]
Act of Declaration of Independence of Ukraine
- In view of the mortal danger surroundingUkraine in connection with thestate coup in theUSSR on August 19, 1991,
- Continuing thethousand-year tradition of state development in Ukraine,
- Proceeding from the right of a nation toself-determination in accordance with theCharter of the United Nations and other international legal documents, and
- Implementing theDeclaration of State Sovereignty of Ukraine,
theVerkhovna Rada of theUkrainian Soviet Socialist Republic solemnly declares
the Independence of Ukraine and the creation of an independent Ukrainian state – UKRAINE.The territory of Ukraine is indivisible and inviolable.
From this day forward, only theConstitution and laws of Ukraine are valid on the territory of Ukraine.
This act becomes effective at the moment of its approval.
— Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, August 24, 1991
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
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Independence declarations from the Soviet Union  | |
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| Declarations of independence | |
| Declarations of sovereignty | |
Note:Autonomies of otherunion republics are written incursive | |
