Ukraine

 HISTORY 

Kievan Rus' was a loose federation of East Slavic peoples in medieval times. Ukraine, Belarus and Russia all claim Kievan Rus' as their cultural ancestors.

A state by the 9th century, Kievan Rus' was established by the Eastern Slavs with the help of the Varangian squads whose force was used to integrate separate tribes and their lands into one powerful state.

In the reign of Vladimir the Great (980-1015) the Kievan Rus' State almost finished its expansion. During his reign it spread over around 800,000 km2 (309,000 sq miles).

In 988 two envoys of Vladimir the Great visited a Christian service at the Great Church of Holy Wisdom in Constantinople. They were hugely impressed and reported back to their master positively. The Grand Prince Vladimir decided to convert the entire population of the state to the new religion. Partially with the help of Byzantine missionaries preachers, partly by the brutal violence, he finally decreed that the entire population of the Kievan Rus capital Kyiv (also spelled Kiev) be baptized. This mass baptism became the iconic inaugural event in the Christianization of the state of Kievan Rus'. For this action, the Ukrainian, and later the Russian Orthodox Churches canonized him under the name of Vladimir the Baptist.

The baptism of the Grand Prince Vladimir led to the adoption of Christianity in Kievan Rus'.

Kievan Rus' reached the zenith of its cultural development and military power during the reign of Vladimir the Great's son, Yaroslav the Wise (1019–1054).

Historians still argue about whether Kyiv was founded by Slavs themselves, or they just captured the Khazar fortress which was located on the bank of the Dnieper river, but in the 10th century, it became the capital of the largest and most powerful state in Europe.

Furthest extent of Kievan Rus', 1054–1132. By SeikoEn

Kievan Rus' eventually broke up and the lands were divided into many small feudal states. By the end of the 14th century, Ukrainian territories were split between Lithuania, Poland, the Crimean Khanate and Muscovy.

A Cossack republic emerged and prospered during the 17th and 18th centuries. During this period
Ukrainians claim to have written the world's first constitution. Pacts and Constitutions of Rights and Freedoms of the Zaporizhian Host, penned by a Pylyp Orlyk in 1710. As per some researchers this is the first constitution and then followed by the U.S and Poland in 1787 and 1791 respectively.

The flag of Ukraine is made up of two equally sized horizontal stripes, a blue one and a yellow one. The combination of blue and yellow as a symbol of Ukrainian lands comes from the flag of the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia used in 12th century. It was officially adopted as a state flag for the first time in 1918 by the short-lived West Ukrainian People's Republic, and subsequently used by the Ukrainian People's Republic the following year. Ukraine has celebrated Flag Day each year on August 23 since 2005.

Ukraine proclaimed itself a People's Republic in 1919 with Kyiv as its capital.

From 1923 Ukraine formed one of the Republics of the USSR. Soviet Russia in the 1920s encouraged the Ukrainian language and Ukrainian culture. However, in the 1930s this policy changed to making the Ukrainians into Russians and there were mass repressions of Ukrainian historians, linguists and poets.

Millions of Ukrainian people starved to death in 1932 and 1933 as a result of Joseph Stalin's second five-year plan to collectivize industry and agriculture.

The Nazi Germans overran Ukraine in World War II.  In the encirclement battle of Kyiv, more than 600,000 Soviet soldiers (or one-quarter of the Soviet Western Front) were killed or taken captive there.

On September 29, 1941 the Babi Yar massacre of Jewish men, women, and children begun in Nazi-occupied Kyiv. They killed over 30,000 Jewish civilians in two days and thousands more in the months that followed.

Ukraine lost 20% of its population in World War II; this is proportionately more than any other nation that took part in the war.

The destruction of Kiev during World War II

The Chernobyl nuclear disaster occurred in April, 1986 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Pripyat, Ukraine. It released large amounts of radioactive particles into the atmosphere in what was then the worst nuclear disaster in history. Large areas of the country were badly contaminated.

Ukraine declared independence from the Soviet Union on August 24, 1991. Over 92% of Ukrainian voters approved their country's independence as declared by the Ukrainian parliament. On the same day, Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party.

In 1954, Crimea had become part of Ukraine. On March 24, 2014, Russia was suspended from the G8 after its annexation of Crimea and military intervention in Eastern Ukraine. A protracted conflict with Russian-backed separatists continued until Russia launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

The Russo-Ukrainian War  has resulted in tens of thousands of casualties on both sides and triggered the largest refugee crisis in Europe since the Second World War.

A series of violent events involving protesters, riot police, and unknown shooters occurred in Kyiv from February 18-22, 2014. These events, known as the Euromaidan Revolution or the Revolution of Dignity, marked the culmination of months of anti-government protests that began in November 2013.

The violence ultimately led to President Yanukovych fleeing the capital on February 22, 2014. A new interim government was formed, and Yanukovych was eventually impeached and removed from office.

A decree by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in 2014 decreed Defender of Ukraine Day to be a new holiday due to the Russian military intervention and decommunization in Ukraine. October 14 was chosen due to the Ukrainian historical tradition since the 12th century of honoring the Ukrainian army on that day. October 14 is also the Day of the Ukrainian Cossacks.

FUN UKRAINE FACTS

It's Ukraine not The Ukraine.

Ukraine is the biggest country that is entirely in Europe. It spreads over 603,628 km square (233,062 sq mi).

Despite its size, Ukraine has a lesser population of just 42,418,235 compared to other bigger countries in Europe like Germany and France.

As of 2018 Ukraine has the lowest personal income and the second lowest GDP per capita in Europe. At US$40, it has the lowest median wealth per adult in the world.

There are 33 letters in the Ukrainian alphabet.

Wedding rings are traditionally worn on the fourth finger of the right hand in by brides and grooms in Ukraine, unlike most of the rest of the world where the wedding ring is worn on the left hand's fourth finger.

George Gershwin's song "Summertime" was inspired by an old Ukrainian lullaby.

A singer named Ruslana won the Eurovision Song Contest for Ukraine in 2004 with the song "Wild Dances" and was later rewarded with a seat in parliament.

The deepest underground railway station in the world is in Kyiv. The depth of Arsenalnaya Metro Station, built in 1960, is 105.5 metres (346.1 ft).

Ukraine's national dish, a delicacy known as salo, is made of cured pork fat. Chocolate-covered pork fat was introduced in 2006.

Salo with pepper, closeup

Ukraine has extensive fertile farmlands, and is one of the world's largest grain exporters.

The largest poultry farm in Europe, in Vinnytsia, Ukraine, raises 156 million birds in its sheds each year.

In Ukraine spiders or spider webs are common Christmas tree decorations. Spiders are seen as signs of goodness and prosperity during the festive season.

Beekeeping in Ukraine is a major economic activity. 700,000 people, 1.5% of the Ukrainian population, are engaged in producing honey.

Ukraine manufactured the heaviest airplane. The Antonov An-225 Mriya is the world's longest and heaviest aircraft ever built, with a size of 88.4 metres and weight of 640,000 kg, which is equal to 91 adult male elephants.

Sources Daily Express, Ppcorn