Country Information on Ukraine 

Terrain

The Ukrainian landscape combines steppes, plateaus, plains and mountains. Among the latter, there is a prominent small mountain range in Crimea; in the southwest there are the Carpathian mountains which include the highest peak of the country, the Goverla Mount, which is 2,061 metres high. The country has several rivers, the most important of which are the Dnepr, the Donets and the Dnister, which flow into the Black Sea and the Azow Sea.

Climate

Ukraine has a mild continental climate which turns to Mediterranean along the southern coast of the Crimean Peninsula. Rains are more abundant in the northern and western parts of the country. Winters are harsher in the interior of the country than along the coast, with an average of -6°C, while summers are warm, with an average temperature of 24°C.

Fauna/Flora

Ukraine is characterized by its forest and steppe vegetation mix; the Crimean Peninsula being unequalled in Europe due to its 2,600 different species of wild plants. Though a great portion of the original fauna there has been eliminated, some species can still be found, such as the deer, beaver, marter, the black vulture of Eurasia, the steppe eagle and the grey heron.

Politics/History

The present Ukrainian territory was inhabited by different peoples around the 7th century AD, such as the Scythians and the Sarmatians. Afterwards, during the first centuries of our era, said territory was invaded by the Huns, Goths, Magyars and Avars. Throughout the 9th century, Slavic and Scandinavian tribes (also known as Varangians) formed an allegiance from which the Kievan Rus emerged, and in 880, Oleg made Kiev the capital. In 1240, the Tartars, led by Batu Khan, occupied the region and founded the Khanate of the Horde of Gold, which ruled during the following two centuries and subjected those who had remained from the old principate of Kiev to vassalage. During the Mongolian occupation, a process of break-up of the Ukrainian territory began, which continued during the following centuries: Galicia was annexed to Poland; Lithuania conquered Kiev and was also later annexed to Poland. In 1793, after the second division of Poland, the Ukrainian territory, with the exception of Galicia, which went on to form part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was incorporated into the Russian Empire. Only in 1917 did Ukraine again gain its independence, following the Russian revolution. The Ukrainians in Galicia, who had developed a strong nationalist sentiment, founded their own republic in 1918 with the intention of joining the then independent Ukraine. However, the Peace Conference in Paris placed it under Polish protectorate, which triggered the war between Poland and Ukraine. In face of the advance of the Bolshevik troops, both countries allied in 1920 to support the Russian counter-revolutionaries. Regardless of their efforts, Ukraine was occupied by the Bolsheviks and in 1922 became a Soviet republic. The application of radical agricultural measures in the following years caused famines which meant the death of over seven million people between 1932 and 1933.

During World War II the Ukrainian nationalists attempted to create an independent republic under German protection but in 1944 the Soviets re-occupied the country recuperating the territories which were handed over by the Germans and annexing the Czech Ruthenium and in 1954, the Crimean region. Between 1954 and 1991, Ukrainian history merged with that of the Soviet Union. In March 1985 Michael Gorbachov assumed the position of Secretary General of the Communist Party and during the following years introduced a wide range of reform programmes, through which he attempted to avoid the dissolution of the Union. His attempts failed, however, and in 1991, the republics of Russia, Byelorussia and Ukraine together agreed to proclaim the Community of Independent States. Leonid Kuchma was named President of Ukraine and even though he introduced economic reforms, the outbreak of a severe economic crisis could not be avoided. Between 1992 and 1997 tensions which arose between Russia and Ukraine were finally eliminated with the signing of a treaty of friendship and co-operation. In spite of protests and political tensions, Kuchma was re-elected in 1999 and in 2000 his proposal for a constitutional reform was approved in a referendum through which he was conferred more power. This led to popular protests demanding his resignation, and these protests are still taking place today.

Economy

Ukraine relies on vast mineral resources on which its industrial sector is based. Nevertheless, and in the same manner as in the other former Soviet Republics, the Ukrainian economy was greatly affected by the dissolution of the USSR due to the destruction of the traditional models of commerce and subsequently, due to a lack of political consensus regarding the implementation of economic reforms. Kuchma's re-election allowed for the acceleration of a structural economic reform which brought about the country's first growth in the GNP in 2000. In 2003 unemployment was up to 4% and the inflation rate was 6%.

Culture

Ukrainian culture is a synthesis of Eastern and Western influences, Byzantine on the one hand and Renaissance on the other. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church adopted the Byzantine rite in the 10th century, which is manifested in the liturgy, architecture, sculpture, iconography and music. In the 14th century the iconographic art was influenced by the Renaissance and later, in the 17th and 18th centuries, by the baroque.