67 percent of the Ukrainians live in towns, and 33 percent live in the countryside, with the ethnic Ukrainians making up 80
percent of the population; the rest are Russians, Belorussians, Romanians, Tartars, Jews, Germans, Bulgarians and others,
126 ethnic groups in all.
CLIMATE AND NATURAL RESOURCES
Ukraine's climate is temperate continental, and subtropical at the southern coast of the Crimea. The mean temperature in
January is -5°C (+ 23 F) and +20°C (68 F) in July.
95 percent of the Ukrainian territory is spread out over the Eastern European Plain; 5 percent of the territory is taken up by
mountainous areas; 14 percent of the land is covered with forests; 4 percent - water reservoirs; 1.6 percent - swamps. 71
percent of all the land in Ukraine is arable, with 12 million hectares (30 million acres) having the fertile black soil (chornozem).
5 percent of the world's mineral resources are concentrated in Ukraine (coal; iron and manganese ores; uranium; graphite,
and rock-salt).
BRIEF HISTORY
The Ukrainians are believed to have descended from those Indo-Europeans who settled in Eastern Europe. The available
archaeological evidence suggests that roots of the pre-Ukrainians may be found in the Trypillya culture which dates from the
fifth to third millennium BC; there may be some links to other ancient cultures which flourished in the territory of the present-day
Ukraine, including the mysterious Scythians.
The pre-Ukrainians maintained trade and culture contacts with the ancient Greek city-states which sprang upon the shores of
the southern Crimea in the 7th - 6th centuries BC; later, a part of the Crimea was included into the Kingdom of Bosporus
which for a period of time was a major rival of Rome in the Black Sea area. The ancient Romans established their outposts in
the Crimea, to be succeeded by the Goths and the Huns.
At the end of the tenth century, the city of Kyiv, the date of whose foundation is uncertain (it is safe to place the foundation of
Kyiv not later than in the fifth century AD but it may be much older), became the capital of a powerful state, Kyivan Rus. It
stretched as far north as the Baltic, as far south as the Black Sea, as far west as the Carpathians, and as far east as the
Volga.
In 988, Ukraine-Rus was converted to Christianity, and the Christian culture was conducive to the rapid development of towns.
It was in the 11th century that the language spoken in Ukraine-Rus began to acquire features which later would develop into
Ukrainian.
Kyivan Rus was a bulwark of European civilization, a sort of its easternmost UltimaThule, at the edge of the Great Steppe,
which was roomed by nomads who kept making incursions into the Ukrainian-Rus lands, some of which were widely
disruptive and destructive.
The 13th century saw a devastating invasion of the Mongols which dealt a mortal blow to Kyivan Rus which had already been
weakened by internal strife, with local rulers vying for power over Kyiv.
Tragic as the invasion was, it did not destroy the Slavic culture as it was upheld in the Halytsko-Volynske Principality in the
western part of what used to be Kyivan Rus. This principality proved to be strong enough to withstand the pressure both from
the east and from the west, fending off the attempts of the western crusaders to subjugate it. One of its rulers, Danylo, was
crowned a king, and his kingdom preserved, to a great extent, the cultural heritage of Kyivan Rus.
A considerable part of Ukraine later came under the domination of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania but preserved much of its
cultural originality. The official language of Lithuania in the 15th century was what is called "Old Ukrainian;" the city of Kyiv
acquired the status of a free city which it was granted under the Magdeburg Law.
Poland, Muscow and Turkey, attracted by the fertility of the land and advantageous geographical position of Ukraine, were the
neighbours that wanted to establish their control over parts of this country. The Zaporizhian Sich which emerged as a sort of a
Cossack state in the area around the southern reaches of the Dnipro River, gradually acquired the status of an upholder of
freedom and cultural traditions. In the mid-seventeenth century, after a period of wars of independence fought under the
leadership of Hetman (military and state leader) Bohdan Khmelnytsky, Ukraine once again emerged as an independent state
formation.
In 1654, the hetman, in the face of an imminent invasion from Turkey and Poland, was forced to sign a treaty in the town of
Pereyaslavl with Russia which put Ukraine under the protection of the Russian tsar. As later events showed, it proved to be a
turning - and tragic - point in the history of Ukraine - Russia was turning into an empire and an independent Ukraine was not
something it would tolerate. Only five years after the treaty in Pereyaslavl was signed (the treaty gave considerable rights and
privileges to the Ukrainian land owners and nobles, Ukrainian clergy and autonomy for the Zaporizhian Sich Cossacks), a
much stricter control was established by Russia over the hetman and the Cossack starshyna (self-government); the number of
Russian troops stationed in Ukraine also grew considerably.
In the early 18th century, an attempt of Hetman Ivan Mazepa to break free from the Russian clutches badly failed. The last
vestiges of autonomy were done away with; no traces of former liberties were left and serfdom was introduced. At the end of
the 18th century, Ukraine was torn apart by Russia and Austria.
In spite of the loss of statehood, prominent cultural figures of Ukraine, and later an ever widening circle of Ukrainian
intellectuals, never abandoned the hope of restoring Ukraine's independence. The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw an
upsurge of activity in the national liberation movement and a growing national awareness gave the movement the muscle and
blood. The First World War triggered revolutions as a result of which three empires collapsed - the German, the
Austrian-Hungarian and the Russian. Thus favourable conditions were created for Ukraine to make a bid for independence.
On January 22 1918, the Ukrainian People's Republic was proclaimed a sovereign state, and its first president was Mykhaylo
Hrushevsky, an eminent Ukrainian historian, political and public figure.
The period of time from 1917 to 1921 proved to be the years of great trials and tribulations for the Ukrainian people. The Civil
War raged in the land with many sides vying for power: the Russian White Guards; the German forces; the Bolsheviks and
their Red Army; the Polish army, and the anarchists - there were too many of them for the Ukrainian armed forces to deal with.
The situation was further aggravated by rampant banditry and attempts by Britain, France, Greece and Romania to join the
fray and get whatever advantages they could out of the confusion. The successive Ukrainian governments, fighting against
overwhelming odds, succumbed and the power was eventually seized by the Russian Bolsheviks, alas not without help from
their Ukrainian "comrades." In 1922, Ukraine became "a soviet socialist republic," one of several in "the friendly family of
nations" - the Soviet Union.
Ukraine had probably never before experienced that much horror as it did being a soviet republic. The 1930s saw the famine
of staggering proportions which in 1932-1933 took lives of at leasts million people; hundreds of thousands intellectuals and
"other subversive elements" were either shot by Stalin's firing squads or exiled to Siberia. The idea was to "liquidate" the very
foundation, upon which the Ukrainian national identity could grow into a national liberation movement.
In the 1940s, Ukraine was the hardest hit in the war of Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union. Three million Ukrainians died
at the front, and five million perished in the areas occupied by the Nazis. The material damage to Ukraine was estimated to
constitute about one thousand billion dollars.
The post-war reconstruction made Ukraine a rather developed industrial and agricultural land; Ukrainian culture was allowed
to develop within the boundaries set by the communist regime; on the other hand, any deviation from the official line was
fraught with danger of prosecution and imprisonment. Dissidents and "Ukrainian nationalists" continued to be arrested, tried
and sent to concentration camps up to 1985.
The 1980s were the time of growing national awareness and social unrest. On July 1990, Verkhovna Rada, Ukrainian
Parliament, adopted "The Act on State Sovereignty" which was a first step to regaining full independence.
POLITICAL SYSTEM
On August 24 1991, Ukraine proclaimed its independence, and during the referendum held on December 1 of the same year,
the Ukrainian people confirmed their choice of independent development by saying "yes" to it. Leonid Kravchuk was elected
the first president of a newly independent Ukraine; in 1994, he lost the election to Leonid Kuchma who was re-elected in 1998.
Ukraine faced a multitude of very difficult tasks which had to be solved within a short period of time: a new political system had
to be built; new statehood principles based on law had to be introduced; a new system of national security and defence had to
be created; new relations with other countries of the world had to be established - Ukraine wanted from the very start to be into
the European and world community; social, economic and ecological reforms had to be carried out; the nuclear weapons
were to be scrapped. The enormity of all these large-scale, time, labour and finance consuming tasks was further exacerbated
by the multiple crises the country was living through - economic, political and psychological. On top of all that, Ukraine
continued to deal with the consequences of the Chornobyl disaster (21 percent of the Ukrainian territory was polluted by the
fallout radioactive materials and it affected 7 percent of the Ukrainian population).
In 1996 a new constitution was adopted; the runaway inflation, which was endemic throughout the former Soviet Union, was
curbed and the national currency, hryvnya, was launched.
Ukraine was the first among the post-soviet countries to establish working relations with the European Union. A charter was
signed with NATO in 1997. Over the years, Ukraine sent its peacekeepers to the Balkans; it was a guarantor of peace in
Moldova; Ukraine is a member of the Council of Europe and of the Security Council of the United Nations Organization.
General foundations of political system
General foundations of political system of Ukraine are defined by its Constitution. In accordance with its organic law, Ukraine
is a sovereign and independent, democratic, social and jural state.
Democratic essence of the Ukrainian state is enshrined by the constitutional provisions concerning its form of government - a
republic, governed by sovereignty of the people. State power is divided into legislative, executive and judicial branches,
acting within their competence. Constitution envisages the principle of political, economic and ideological diversity of social
life.
The social character of Ukrainian state results in constitutional regulation of issues related to use of property and protection of
all subjects of property right, social orientation of the economy, equality of all subjects of property right before the law,
maintenance of ecologic safety and balance within Ukraine's territory and other socially important measures.
Jural essence of the state is supported by provisions related to supremacy of law and direct action of constitutional norms.
The state is responsible before the people for its activities. According to the Constitution, the main task of the state is to
establish and promote human rights and freedoms.
Ukraine is a unitary state, which territory is integral and inviolable. The state has a single citizenship. The state language of
Ukraine is Ukrainian.
State power institutions in Ukraine
The President of Ukraine
The Constitution of Ukraine designates the President as the Head of State, acting on its behalf. The President is a guarantor
of national sovereignty, territorial integrity, adherence to the Constitution, human and civil rights and freedoms. The President
is elected by the citizens of the state on the basis of equal and direct universal suffrage through secret vote. The term of
presidential office is five years. Only a citizen of Ukraine, who was residing in Ukraine for ten years before the elections, has
voting rights and speaks state language, may be elected President. President may hold his/her post no longer than two
consecutive terms.
The Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) of Ukraine
The only legislative body of Ukraine is the Parliament - the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. People's deputies of Ukraine are
elected by the citizens of Ukraine on the basis of equal and direct universal suffrage through secret vote. The election system
is mixed - majority and proportional.
Altogether 450 deputies are elected. 225 of them are elected at single-mandate constituencies on the basis of relative
majority, and another 225 are elected proportionally at multi-mandate national constituency from the lists of candidates
coming from political parties and their election blocks.
The powers of people's deputies of Ukraine are established by the Constitution and laws of Ukraine. People's deputies of
Ukraine may voluntarily unite themselves into deputies' groups (factions) of no less then 25 members. Deputies' groups are
formed both at party and non-party basis. Deputies' groups formed at party basis are called 'factions'. Non-party deputies may
join a faction if they support the program of relevant party. Deputies' groups formed at non-party basis unite deputies who
share the same or similar views of national, social and economic development.
The Government of Ukraine
The Cabinet of Ministers (Government) of Ukraine is the supreme executive authority. Its actions are based on the
Constitution, laws of Ukraine and presidential orders. The Government is responsible to the President and is controlled by the
Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, to which it also must report. In practice, this dependency results in presidential appointment of a
Prime Minister (with parliamentary consent). The President may also suspend Prime Minister's authorities and discharge
him/her. Upon Prime Minister's submission, the President appoints and discharges the members of Cabinet of Ministers and
other heads of central executive authorities.
Parliamentary control of the Government and its reporting to the Verkhovna Rada results is parliamentary approval of
government-submitted annual budget, parliamentary resolutions on fulfillment of budgetary provisions, approval or rejection of
governmental program and control of government's work.
The system of judicial authority
Legal proceedings are carried out by the Constitutional Court and courts of general jurisdiction. The supreme authority of the
system of courts of general jurisdiction is the Supreme Court of Ukraine. Legal proceedings may be carried out only by courts.
Courts' jurisdiction covers all legal relationships in the state. The system of courts of general jurisdiction is based on the
principles of territorial and special jurisdiction.
The Constitutional Court of Ukraine is a separate entity, independent from the courts of general jurisdiction. It cannot be used
as a cassation, appeal or supervisory authority for the courts of general jurisdiction. The activities of the Constitutional Court of
Ukraine promote constitutional control in all spheres, stabilization and strengthening of constitutional order, establishment of
principle of primacy of law and the supreme legal force of the Constitution, promotion of constitutional rights and freedoms of
citizens.
ECONOMY
Ukraine possesses a considerable economic, industrial and agricultural potential; it has gained a wide and positive
experience in such industries as metallurgical, mining, energy production, chemical and metal-working. Grain harvests can be
up to 50 million metric tons a year (Ukraine has long been as "the bread basket of Europe").
At the same time, Ukraine has inherited from the Soviet Union a malformed and inefficient economic complex and outdated
material basis. At present, Ukraine is going through a difficult transitory period. Structural reforms, particularly in the industrial
sphere, are badly needed but they are implemented either too slowly or not at all; industries with the closed cycle of production
are insufficient in number; the law system is flawed and because of its imperfections cannot stimulate the growth of the private
sector of the economy, or provide conditions necessary for the successful development of small-sized and medium-sized
businesses; investments are slow to come.
In the post-soviet period, the gross national product of Ukraine has dropped by 52 percent; the industrial production shrank by
48 percent and the agricultural production was reduced by 51 percent. Unemployment has become a major problem.
According to the International Labour organization the level of unemployment reaches 11.7 percent of the labour force, and if
all other forms of hidden unemployment are included - shorter work days, days off and vacations without pay, etc. - then the
figure will be much higher - up to 30-35 percent.
All of these factors contribute to the existence of "the shadow economy" which has reached such proportions that now,
according to some estimates, about half of the Ukrainian gross national product is produced in the "shadow" sector which
employs about 11 million people. A sharp social polarization of the Ukrainian population has resulted, with 10 percent of the
population earning 40 percent of all the revenues. Poverty is on the rise. According to data provided by the Administration of
the President, 25 percent of the population falls into the category of "poor" and 14.7 percent can be classified as "very poor"
or "destitute".
Positive changes in Ukraine's economy began in 2000 thanks to the agrarian and administrative reforms, and to the
continuing denationalization and privatization. According to the statistical data supplied by the government of Ukraine, the
industrial and agricultural production has been growing ever since, and as a result, the income of the population has been
growing as well. In the spring of 2002 the average monthly salary constituted 400 hryvnyas. Food and consumer industries
have been improving particularly fast. Heavy-duty and super heavy aircraft, Ruslan and Mriya, made by the Antonov Factory in
Ukraine are Ukraine's foremost competitive products at the world market. At present, a priority is given to the development of
high-tech industries.
The past two years have amply demonstrated that Ukraine still has a considerable potential for further economic growth.
CULTURE AND TRADITIONS
Ukraine has been developing its own original culture since very early times of its history. There were periods when Ukrainian
culture experienced considerable influences of other cultures, notably those of Byzantium and of the Vikings (in the medieval
times of Kyivan Rus), but basically it preserved its general original quality. The Old Ukrainian language was used as Latin of
Eastern Europe for a period of time.
Though oral literature existed in the very early periods of Ukraine's history, written elite literature began to develop from the
end of the 10th century, after the adoption of Christianity which gave a big boost for the development of culture in general. The
churches of Kyiv - and their number - caused admiration of foreign travellers visiting the city in the 11th and 12th centuries. The
eleventh-century Grand Duke Yarsolav the Wise founded a library which became one of the biggest in Europe, and promoted
the institution of schools, including those for girls. In later centuries, literacy was widely spread in Ukraine.
In spite of a turbulent and dramatic history, Ukraine has preserved a cultural constant from the early times of its existence.
Book printing began in Ukraine in the 16th century and the first establishment of higher learning - the first not only in Ukraine
but in the whole of Eastern Europe - Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, sprang up in the early 17th century.
Notwithstanding its colonial status, Ukraine had a wide spectrum of art and literature which entered a phase of stepped-up
development in the 18th century. Poetic and prose works written by Taras Shevchenko, the most revered cultural figure of
Ukraine, Ivan Kotlyarevsky, Lesya Ukrayinka, Ivan Franko, Mykhaylo Kotsyubynsky and other authors of the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries, were a worthy contribution to world literature.
Folk music, and later symphonic and opera music were and are among Ukraine's cultural strengths.
TOURISM IN UKRAINE
Incoming tourism was on the rise in 2001-2002. 11.9 million foreigners (with 5.8 million of them being tourists) from 172
countries of the world visited Ukraine in 2001. The first nine months of 2002 saw an increase of 5 percent in foreign tourism.
Today Ukraine has 1300 hotels and hotel facilities and 3304 health improvement and resort centres.
The countries which supply the greatest number of tourists are: Russia, Moldova, Belarus (and other countries of the former
Soviet Union), Hungary, Poland, Germany, Israel, the USA, Slovakia, Austria, Great Britain, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic,
Italy, France, Greece, Malta and Canada.
The areas in Ukraine with the highest tourist ratings are the Autonomous Republic of the Crimea; the Carpathians; the most
visited cities are: Kyiv, Odesa, Zaporizhzhya, Donetsk, Sevastopol, and Lviv.
RELIGION
Ukraine is tolerant to religious confessions of all kinds. The biggest religious denominations are the Orthodox Churches of the
Kyiv and Moscow Patriarchates (the Kyiv Patriarchate, dissolved in the Russian Empire, was re-established after Ukraine's
independence). The Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church and the Greece-catholic Church, banned in the Soviet Union,
were revived after Ukraine regained her independence.
51.6 percent of the Ukrainian population declare themselves Orthodox Christians. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the
Moscow Patriarchate has 9515 parishes (which constitutes almost 70 percent of all the parishes) in Ukraine; The Ukrainian
Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate has 3156 parishes; The Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church
STATE HOLIDAYS
1 January - New Year's
7 January - Christmas
8 March - International Women's Day
27 April - Orthodox Easter
1-2 May - Labour Days
9 May - Victory in Europe Day
15 June -Holy Trinity
28 June - Constitution Day
24 August - Independence Day
There is a number of other Christian confessions: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Evangelical Christian Baptist, and others;
Judaism and Islam are practised religions as well.
* * *
percent of the population; the rest are Russians, Belorussians, Romanians, Tartars, Jews, Germans, Bulgarians and others,
126 ethnic groups in all.
CLIMATE AND NATURAL RESOURCES
Ukraine's climate is temperate continental, and subtropical at the southern coast of the Crimea. The mean temperature in
January is -5°C (+ 23 F) and +20°C (68 F) in July.
95 percent of the Ukrainian territory is spread out over the Eastern European Plain; 5 percent of the territory is taken up by
mountainous areas; 14 percent of the land is covered with forests; 4 percent - water reservoirs; 1.6 percent - swamps. 71
percent of all the land in Ukraine is arable, with 12 million hectares (30 million acres) having the fertile black soil (chornozem).
5 percent of the world's mineral resources are concentrated in Ukraine (coal; iron and manganese ores; uranium; graphite,
and rock-salt).
BRIEF HISTORY
The Ukrainians are believed to have descended from those Indo-Europeans who settled in Eastern Europe. The available
archaeological evidence suggests that roots of the pre-Ukrainians may be found in the Trypillya culture which dates from the
fifth to third millennium BC; there may be some links to other ancient cultures which flourished in the territory of the present-day
Ukraine, including the mysterious Scythians.
The pre-Ukrainians maintained trade and culture contacts with the ancient Greek city-states which sprang upon the shores of
the southern Crimea in the 7th - 6th centuries BC; later, a part of the Crimea was included into the Kingdom of Bosporus
which for a period of time was a major rival of Rome in the Black Sea area. The ancient Romans established their outposts in
the Crimea, to be succeeded by the Goths and the Huns.
At the end of the tenth century, the city of Kyiv, the date of whose foundation is uncertain (it is safe to place the foundation of
Kyiv not later than in the fifth century AD but it may be much older), became the capital of a powerful state, Kyivan Rus. It
stretched as far north as the Baltic, as far south as the Black Sea, as far west as the Carpathians, and as far east as the
Volga.
In 988, Ukraine-Rus was converted to Christianity, and the Christian culture was conducive to the rapid development of towns.
It was in the 11th century that the language spoken in Ukraine-Rus began to acquire features which later would develop into
Ukrainian.
Kyivan Rus was a bulwark of European civilization, a sort of its easternmost UltimaThule, at the edge of the Great Steppe,
which was roomed by nomads who kept making incursions into the Ukrainian-Rus lands, some of which were widely
disruptive and destructive.
The 13th century saw a devastating invasion of the Mongols which dealt a mortal blow to Kyivan Rus which had already been
weakened by internal strife, with local rulers vying for power over Kyiv.
Tragic as the invasion was, it did not destroy the Slavic culture as it was upheld in the Halytsko-Volynske Principality in the
western part of what used to be Kyivan Rus. This principality proved to be strong enough to withstand the pressure both from
the east and from the west, fending off the attempts of the western crusaders to subjugate it. One of its rulers, Danylo, was
crowned a king, and his kingdom preserved, to a great extent, the cultural heritage of Kyivan Rus.
A considerable part of Ukraine later came under the domination of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania but preserved much of its
cultural originality. The official language of Lithuania in the 15th century was what is called "Old Ukrainian;" the city of Kyiv
acquired the status of a free city which it was granted under the Magdeburg Law.
Poland, Muscow and Turkey, attracted by the fertility of the land and advantageous geographical position of Ukraine, were the
neighbours that wanted to establish their control over parts of this country. The Zaporizhian Sich which emerged as a sort of a
Cossack state in the area around the southern reaches of the Dnipro River, gradually acquired the status of an upholder of
freedom and cultural traditions. In the mid-seventeenth century, after a period of wars of independence fought under the
leadership of Hetman (military and state leader) Bohdan Khmelnytsky, Ukraine once again emerged as an independent state
formation.
In 1654, the hetman, in the face of an imminent invasion from Turkey and Poland, was forced to sign a treaty in the town of
Pereyaslavl with Russia which put Ukraine under the protection of the Russian tsar. As later events showed, it proved to be a
turning - and tragic - point in the history of Ukraine - Russia was turning into an empire and an independent Ukraine was not
something it would tolerate. Only five years after the treaty in Pereyaslavl was signed (the treaty gave considerable rights and
privileges to the Ukrainian land owners and nobles, Ukrainian clergy and autonomy for the Zaporizhian Sich Cossacks), a
much stricter control was established by Russia over the hetman and the Cossack starshyna (self-government); the number of
Russian troops stationed in Ukraine also grew considerably.
In the early 18th century, an attempt of Hetman Ivan Mazepa to break free from the Russian clutches badly failed. The last
vestiges of autonomy were done away with; no traces of former liberties were left and serfdom was introduced. At the end of
the 18th century, Ukraine was torn apart by Russia and Austria.
In spite of the loss of statehood, prominent cultural figures of Ukraine, and later an ever widening circle of Ukrainian
intellectuals, never abandoned the hope of restoring Ukraine's independence. The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw an
upsurge of activity in the national liberation movement and a growing national awareness gave the movement the muscle and
blood. The First World War triggered revolutions as a result of which three empires collapsed - the German, the
Austrian-Hungarian and the Russian. Thus favourable conditions were created for Ukraine to make a bid for independence.
On January 22 1918, the Ukrainian People's Republic was proclaimed a sovereign state, and its first president was Mykhaylo
Hrushevsky, an eminent Ukrainian historian, political and public figure.
The period of time from 1917 to 1921 proved to be the years of great trials and tribulations for the Ukrainian people. The Civil
War raged in the land with many sides vying for power: the Russian White Guards; the German forces; the Bolsheviks and
their Red Army; the Polish army, and the anarchists - there were too many of them for the Ukrainian armed forces to deal with.
The situation was further aggravated by rampant banditry and attempts by Britain, France, Greece and Romania to join the
fray and get whatever advantages they could out of the confusion. The successive Ukrainian governments, fighting against
overwhelming odds, succumbed and the power was eventually seized by the Russian Bolsheviks, alas not without help from
their Ukrainian "comrades." In 1922, Ukraine became "a soviet socialist republic," one of several in "the friendly family of
nations" - the Soviet Union.
Ukraine had probably never before experienced that much horror as it did being a soviet republic. The 1930s saw the famine
of staggering proportions which in 1932-1933 took lives of at leasts million people; hundreds of thousands intellectuals and
"other subversive elements" were either shot by Stalin's firing squads or exiled to Siberia. The idea was to "liquidate" the very
foundation, upon which the Ukrainian national identity could grow into a national liberation movement.
In the 1940s, Ukraine was the hardest hit in the war of Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union. Three million Ukrainians died
at the front, and five million perished in the areas occupied by the Nazis. The material damage to Ukraine was estimated to
constitute about one thousand billion dollars.
The post-war reconstruction made Ukraine a rather developed industrial and agricultural land; Ukrainian culture was allowed
to develop within the boundaries set by the communist regime; on the other hand, any deviation from the official line was
fraught with danger of prosecution and imprisonment. Dissidents and "Ukrainian nationalists" continued to be arrested, tried
and sent to concentration camps up to 1985.
The 1980s were the time of growing national awareness and social unrest. On July 1990, Verkhovna Rada, Ukrainian
Parliament, adopted "The Act on State Sovereignty" which was a first step to regaining full independence.
POLITICAL SYSTEM
On August 24 1991, Ukraine proclaimed its independence, and during the referendum held on December 1 of the same year,
the Ukrainian people confirmed their choice of independent development by saying "yes" to it. Leonid Kravchuk was elected
the first president of a newly independent Ukraine; in 1994, he lost the election to Leonid Kuchma who was re-elected in 1998.
Ukraine faced a multitude of very difficult tasks which had to be solved within a short period of time: a new political system had
to be built; new statehood principles based on law had to be introduced; a new system of national security and defence had to
be created; new relations with other countries of the world had to be established - Ukraine wanted from the very start to be into
the European and world community; social, economic and ecological reforms had to be carried out; the nuclear weapons
were to be scrapped. The enormity of all these large-scale, time, labour and finance consuming tasks was further exacerbated
by the multiple crises the country was living through - economic, political and psychological. On top of all that, Ukraine
continued to deal with the consequences of the Chornobyl disaster (21 percent of the Ukrainian territory was polluted by the
fallout radioactive materials and it affected 7 percent of the Ukrainian population).
In 1996 a new constitution was adopted; the runaway inflation, which was endemic throughout the former Soviet Union, was
curbed and the national currency, hryvnya, was launched.
Ukraine was the first among the post-soviet countries to establish working relations with the European Union. A charter was
signed with NATO in 1997. Over the years, Ukraine sent its peacekeepers to the Balkans; it was a guarantor of peace in
Moldova; Ukraine is a member of the Council of Europe and of the Security Council of the United Nations Organization.
General foundations of political system
General foundations of political system of Ukraine are defined by its Constitution. In accordance with its organic law, Ukraine
is a sovereign and independent, democratic, social and jural state.
Democratic essence of the Ukrainian state is enshrined by the constitutional provisions concerning its form of government - a
republic, governed by sovereignty of the people. State power is divided into legislative, executive and judicial branches,
acting within their competence. Constitution envisages the principle of political, economic and ideological diversity of social
life.
The social character of Ukrainian state results in constitutional regulation of issues related to use of property and protection of
all subjects of property right, social orientation of the economy, equality of all subjects of property right before the law,
maintenance of ecologic safety and balance within Ukraine's territory and other socially important measures.
Jural essence of the state is supported by provisions related to supremacy of law and direct action of constitutional norms.
The state is responsible before the people for its activities. According to the Constitution, the main task of the state is to
establish and promote human rights and freedoms.
Ukraine is a unitary state, which territory is integral and inviolable. The state has a single citizenship. The state language of
Ukraine is Ukrainian.
State power institutions in Ukraine
The President of Ukraine
The Constitution of Ukraine designates the President as the Head of State, acting on its behalf. The President is a guarantor
of national sovereignty, territorial integrity, adherence to the Constitution, human and civil rights and freedoms. The President
is elected by the citizens of the state on the basis of equal and direct universal suffrage through secret vote. The term of
presidential office is five years. Only a citizen of Ukraine, who was residing in Ukraine for ten years before the elections, has
voting rights and speaks state language, may be elected President. President may hold his/her post no longer than two
consecutive terms.
The Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) of Ukraine
The only legislative body of Ukraine is the Parliament - the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. People's deputies of Ukraine are
elected by the citizens of Ukraine on the basis of equal and direct universal suffrage through secret vote. The election system
is mixed - majority and proportional.
Altogether 450 deputies are elected. 225 of them are elected at single-mandate constituencies on the basis of relative
majority, and another 225 are elected proportionally at multi-mandate national constituency from the lists of candidates
coming from political parties and their election blocks.
The powers of people's deputies of Ukraine are established by the Constitution and laws of Ukraine. People's deputies of
Ukraine may voluntarily unite themselves into deputies' groups (factions) of no less then 25 members. Deputies' groups are
formed both at party and non-party basis. Deputies' groups formed at party basis are called 'factions'. Non-party deputies may
join a faction if they support the program of relevant party. Deputies' groups formed at non-party basis unite deputies who
share the same or similar views of national, social and economic development.
The Government of Ukraine
The Cabinet of Ministers (Government) of Ukraine is the supreme executive authority. Its actions are based on the
Constitution, laws of Ukraine and presidential orders. The Government is responsible to the President and is controlled by the
Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, to which it also must report. In practice, this dependency results in presidential appointment of a
Prime Minister (with parliamentary consent). The President may also suspend Prime Minister's authorities and discharge
him/her. Upon Prime Minister's submission, the President appoints and discharges the members of Cabinet of Ministers and
other heads of central executive authorities.
Parliamentary control of the Government and its reporting to the Verkhovna Rada results is parliamentary approval of
government-submitted annual budget, parliamentary resolutions on fulfillment of budgetary provisions, approval or rejection of
governmental program and control of government's work.
The system of judicial authority
Legal proceedings are carried out by the Constitutional Court and courts of general jurisdiction. The supreme authority of the
system of courts of general jurisdiction is the Supreme Court of Ukraine. Legal proceedings may be carried out only by courts.
Courts' jurisdiction covers all legal relationships in the state. The system of courts of general jurisdiction is based on the
principles of territorial and special jurisdiction.
The Constitutional Court of Ukraine is a separate entity, independent from the courts of general jurisdiction. It cannot be used
as a cassation, appeal or supervisory authority for the courts of general jurisdiction. The activities of the Constitutional Court of
Ukraine promote constitutional control in all spheres, stabilization and strengthening of constitutional order, establishment of
principle of primacy of law and the supreme legal force of the Constitution, promotion of constitutional rights and freedoms of
citizens.
ECONOMY
Ukraine possesses a considerable economic, industrial and agricultural potential; it has gained a wide and positive
experience in such industries as metallurgical, mining, energy production, chemical and metal-working. Grain harvests can be
up to 50 million metric tons a year (Ukraine has long been as "the bread basket of Europe").
At the same time, Ukraine has inherited from the Soviet Union a malformed and inefficient economic complex and outdated
material basis. At present, Ukraine is going through a difficult transitory period. Structural reforms, particularly in the industrial
sphere, are badly needed but they are implemented either too slowly or not at all; industries with the closed cycle of production
are insufficient in number; the law system is flawed and because of its imperfections cannot stimulate the growth of the private
sector of the economy, or provide conditions necessary for the successful development of small-sized and medium-sized
businesses; investments are slow to come.
In the post-soviet period, the gross national product of Ukraine has dropped by 52 percent; the industrial production shrank by
48 percent and the agricultural production was reduced by 51 percent. Unemployment has become a major problem.
According to the International Labour organization the level of unemployment reaches 11.7 percent of the labour force, and if
all other forms of hidden unemployment are included - shorter work days, days off and vacations without pay, etc. - then the
figure will be much higher - up to 30-35 percent.
All of these factors contribute to the existence of "the shadow economy" which has reached such proportions that now,
according to some estimates, about half of the Ukrainian gross national product is produced in the "shadow" sector which
employs about 11 million people. A sharp social polarization of the Ukrainian population has resulted, with 10 percent of the
population earning 40 percent of all the revenues. Poverty is on the rise. According to data provided by the Administration of
the President, 25 percent of the population falls into the category of "poor" and 14.7 percent can be classified as "very poor"
or "destitute".
Positive changes in Ukraine's economy began in 2000 thanks to the agrarian and administrative reforms, and to the
continuing denationalization and privatization. According to the statistical data supplied by the government of Ukraine, the
industrial and agricultural production has been growing ever since, and as a result, the income of the population has been
growing as well. In the spring of 2002 the average monthly salary constituted 400 hryvnyas. Food and consumer industries
have been improving particularly fast. Heavy-duty and super heavy aircraft, Ruslan and Mriya, made by the Antonov Factory in
Ukraine are Ukraine's foremost competitive products at the world market. At present, a priority is given to the development of
high-tech industries.
The past two years have amply demonstrated that Ukraine still has a considerable potential for further economic growth.
CULTURE AND TRADITIONS
Ukraine has been developing its own original culture since very early times of its history. There were periods when Ukrainian
culture experienced considerable influences of other cultures, notably those of Byzantium and of the Vikings (in the medieval
times of Kyivan Rus), but basically it preserved its general original quality. The Old Ukrainian language was used as Latin of
Eastern Europe for a period of time.
Though oral literature existed in the very early periods of Ukraine's history, written elite literature began to develop from the
end of the 10th century, after the adoption of Christianity which gave a big boost for the development of culture in general. The
churches of Kyiv - and their number - caused admiration of foreign travellers visiting the city in the 11th and 12th centuries. The
eleventh-century Grand Duke Yarsolav the Wise founded a library which became one of the biggest in Europe, and promoted
the institution of schools, including those for girls. In later centuries, literacy was widely spread in Ukraine.
In spite of a turbulent and dramatic history, Ukraine has preserved a cultural constant from the early times of its existence.
Book printing began in Ukraine in the 16th century and the first establishment of higher learning - the first not only in Ukraine
but in the whole of Eastern Europe - Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, sprang up in the early 17th century.
Notwithstanding its colonial status, Ukraine had a wide spectrum of art and literature which entered a phase of stepped-up
development in the 18th century. Poetic and prose works written by Taras Shevchenko, the most revered cultural figure of
Ukraine, Ivan Kotlyarevsky, Lesya Ukrayinka, Ivan Franko, Mykhaylo Kotsyubynsky and other authors of the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries, were a worthy contribution to world literature.
Folk music, and later symphonic and opera music were and are among Ukraine's cultural strengths.
TOURISM IN UKRAINE
Incoming tourism was on the rise in 2001-2002. 11.9 million foreigners (with 5.8 million of them being tourists) from 172
countries of the world visited Ukraine in 2001. The first nine months of 2002 saw an increase of 5 percent in foreign tourism.
Today Ukraine has 1300 hotels and hotel facilities and 3304 health improvement and resort centres.
The countries which supply the greatest number of tourists are: Russia, Moldova, Belarus (and other countries of the former
Soviet Union), Hungary, Poland, Germany, Israel, the USA, Slovakia, Austria, Great Britain, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic,
Italy, France, Greece, Malta and Canada.
The areas in Ukraine with the highest tourist ratings are the Autonomous Republic of the Crimea; the Carpathians; the most
visited cities are: Kyiv, Odesa, Zaporizhzhya, Donetsk, Sevastopol, and Lviv.
RELIGION
Ukraine is tolerant to religious confessions of all kinds. The biggest religious denominations are the Orthodox Churches of the
Kyiv and Moscow Patriarchates (the Kyiv Patriarchate, dissolved in the Russian Empire, was re-established after Ukraine's
independence). The Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church and the Greece-catholic Church, banned in the Soviet Union,
were revived after Ukraine regained her independence.
51.6 percent of the Ukrainian population declare themselves Orthodox Christians. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the
Moscow Patriarchate has 9515 parishes (which constitutes almost 70 percent of all the parishes) in Ukraine; The Ukrainian
Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate has 3156 parishes; The Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church
STATE HOLIDAYS
1 January - New Year's
7 January - Christmas
8 March - International Women's Day
27 April - Orthodox Easter
1-2 May - Labour Days
9 May - Victory in Europe Day
15 June -Holy Trinity
28 June - Constitution Day
24 August - Independence Day
There is a number of other Christian confessions: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Evangelical Christian Baptist, and others;
Judaism and Islam are practised religions as well.
* * *
Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Singapore
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Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic
of Singapore
of Singapore
| 50 Raffles Place # 16 - 05 Singapore Land Tower Singapore 048623 tel: (65)6535 6550 fax: 6535 2116 |
GEOGRAPHY AND POPULATION
Ukraine, with a territory of 603.7 thousand sq kilometres and a population of 48.4 million people, is one of the
biggest countries of Europe. Administratively, Ukraine is made up of 24 Oblasts and one Autonomous Republic
(Crimea). The capital city is Kyiv.
Ukraine is bordered by Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldova on the west and south-west, and by
Belarus and Russia on the north and north-east; on the south, Ukraine is bordered by the Black Sea and the Sea
of Azov.
The longest river is Dnipro, and the biggest mountain chain is the Carpathians. It is in the Carpathians that the
geographical centre of Europe is located.
Among 454 cities and towns of Ukraine the biggest are: Kyiv (population 2.6 million); Kharkiv (population 1.6
million); Dnepropetrovsk (population 1.1 million); Odesa (population 1.1 million); Donetsk (population 1.1 million),
and Lviv (population 802 thousand).
Ukraine, with a territory of 603.7 thousand sq kilometres and a population of 48.4 million people, is one of the
biggest countries of Europe. Administratively, Ukraine is made up of 24 Oblasts and one Autonomous Republic
(Crimea). The capital city is Kyiv.
Ukraine is bordered by Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldova on the west and south-west, and by
Belarus and Russia on the north and north-east; on the south, Ukraine is bordered by the Black Sea and the Sea
of Azov.
The longest river is Dnipro, and the biggest mountain chain is the Carpathians. It is in the Carpathians that the
geographical centre of Europe is located.
Among 454 cities and towns of Ukraine the biggest are: Kyiv (population 2.6 million); Kharkiv (population 1.6
million); Dnepropetrovsk (population 1.1 million); Odesa (population 1.1 million); Donetsk (population 1.1 million),
and Lviv (population 802 thousand).
