Ukrainians have lived on the territory of present-day Ukraine for millennia. The roots of the Ukrainian nation are found in the Trypillian culture that evolved in the Middle Dnipro region in the third millennium B C., the heritage of the Scythian tribes, and the Chernyakhiv culture. More than 1100 years ago Kievan Rus'-Ukraine, a powerful European medieval monarchy, was established on Ukrainian territory. Its lands extended to the Gulf of Finland and the largest lakes of Karelia in the north, to the upper course of the Volga in the east, and to the Syan and Western Sub rivers in the west. The cities of Peremyshl, Sanok, and Kholm in present-day Poland were founded by Ukrainian princes. The rulers of Kievan Rus'-Ukraine controlled the lands above the Tysa and the western most range of the Carpathian Mountains and ruled over the Crimean Peninsula in the south.

The Kievan Rus' state disintegrated in the 12th-13th centuries and some of its territory came under the rule of Muscovy and Byelorussia. The successor to the Kievan Rus'-Ukraine state was the Galician-Volynian Principality, which was founded by Danylo Halytsky and existed from the I3th to the 15th century.

After a lengthy period of struggle for its independence from Lithuania and Poland, Ukraine re-appeared on the political map of Europe with the emergence of the military organisation of the Zaporozhyan Kozak Sich, whose armies, led by Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky, waged the national-liberation wars of 1648-1654. However, this brief period of Ukrainian sovereignty was followed by centuries of colonial oppression under the Russian Empire and Poland. After the disintegration of the Polish state in 1772, its Ukrainian lands came under Austrian rule.

As a result of the February and October revolutions of 1917 the Russian monarchy fell and the Empire disintegrated. On January 22, 1918, the independence of the Ukrainian National Republic was proclaimed. World War I also hastened the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Western Ukrainian National Republic was proclaimed on November I , 1918. The republic lasted for only eight months: the Polish national minority in Galicia rose up against the Western Ukrainian National Republic and this uprising soon developed into a war of the Polish state against Western Ukraine, Foreign military aid to Poland also had a decisive effect on the outcome of the Ukrainian-polish conflict and subsequently a council of delegates from the Entente countries recognised Poland's right to occupy Ukrainian territories. The fate of Eastern Galicia was ultimately decided two decades later.

During 1917-1921 Eastern Ukraine (or Greater Ukraine) became the theater of war of six different armies. Neither the government of the Ukrainian Central Rada (M. Hrushevsky and S. Petlyura), the Hetmanate government of Skoropadsky , nor the Directorate were able to secure Ukrainian independence.

National consciousness, which in the past was germane only to a segment of the intelligentsia, began emerging in all strata of Ukrainian society. The events of 19171921 thus had a revolutionary significance for the social, economic, and national evolution of Ukraine. For this reason, the Russian Bolsheviks were forced to take into account Ukrainian national sentiment when they established Soviet rule in Ukraine.

Dozens of countries recognised the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, which was proclaimed in 1921 The new Soviet republic was a signatory of approximately 90 treaties and accords with 15 countries, participated in multilateral diplomatic conferences, and enjoyed consular rights,

The majority of the population wanted the new Ukrainian state to develop independently. But the deceptive promises of the Bolshevik leaders that they would forge a union of equal nations on the territory of the former Russian Empire only resulted in the drafting of the Treaty of the Formation of the USSR, which was signed by Ukraine, Byelorussia, the Trans-Caucasian Federation, and the Russian Federation. Under pressure from the central Communist apparatus, Ukraine was forced to surrenderits right to conduct its own external foreign relations to the Union government,

During the early years of the Soviet Ukrainian republic national consciousness, particularly in the realm of culture, was strengthened by means of an official policy of Ukrainianisation. Despite this officially-sanctioned policy, however, Ukrainian national tendencies were widely restricted by the Communist Party, which feared the resurgence of Ukrainian separatism.

The 1930s were a tragic period in the history of Ukraine. The Soviet government of Stalin, Kaganovych, Molotov, and Postyshev pursued a consistent; policy what was designed to create an agrarian crisis, i.e. an artificial famine, aimed at destroying the social foundations of Ukrainian national consciousness. The genocidal famine in Ukraine of 1932-1933, news of which was deliberately suppressed by various Western governments, resulted in the deaths of almost eight million Ukrainians living in rural areas. The destruction of such a large segment of the Ukrainian nation, whose biological potential was undermined for an entire century, was accompanied by a ban on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the physical liquidation of the Ukrainian intelligentsia.

As a constituent member of the USSR, the Ukrainian republic, in accordance with the Soviet Constitution, formally enjoyed certain rights and features of a sovereign state: territory, organs of state power and administration, budget, state emblem, flag, national anthem, and Constitution.

In 1944, in accordance with a decision of the Supreme Council of the USSR, the Union republics, including tire Ukrainian SSR, were granted the right to conduct their own foreign relations. One year later the Ukrainian SSR became a founding member of the United Nations.

Despite its dependence on Union decisions and structures, the international status of Ukraine as a state in its own right increased over the years. During the period of 1944-1990 Ukraine was a signatory of 156 international treaties, was a member of 16 international organisations, participated in the work of approximately 60 permanent and interim international organs.

On July 16, 1990 the Supreme Raja of Ukraine adopted an important historic document the Act proclaiming Ukrainian state sovereignty, Independence and indivisibility of power within the boundaries of Ukrainian territory, and independence and equality in conducting foreign relations.

On August 24, 1991 the Supreme Raja, in effecting this Declaration and proceeding from the right to self-determination, proclaimed the act of independence of Ukraine. Ifs territory was proclaimed indivisible and inviolable and the Constitution and laws of Ukraine have exclusive validity. On December 1, 1991 an all-Ukrainian referendum was held. Results of this national referendum indicated that more than 90% of the population favoured independence. Leonid Kravchuk, the former head of the Supreme RADA of Ukraine was elected President of Ukraine.

Ukraine is an industrial and agricultural state, rich in coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, and uranium deposits. Its major industries are: metallurgy (40 million tons of rolled metal), mining (105 million tones of iron ore, up to 165 million tons of coal), energy (500 billion kilowatt-bouts), chemical, metal-working, machine-building, food and textile production. Ukraine produces an annual gross yield of 50 million tons of grain, 7 million tons of sugar, and four mullion tons of meat. Its total sowing area is 32 million hectares. The building and transportation systems are well-developed.

Certain aspects of the Ukrainian economy are weak: its ecology, is in a precarious state, there is extensive loss of soil fertility, Ukrainian plants are outfitted with outmoded industrial equipment, there are many structural defects in the national economic complex, the service industries are underdeveloped, and there is an excessive emphasis on heavy industry and production.

These problems may be resolved quickly owing to a highly-trained work-force, well-developed communications and distribution systems, favourable climate, and opportunities to develop tourism, transit systems, and investments.

Material is represented with kind permission of the Smoloskyp Publishers in Kyiv
from CIESIN-Ukraine Node