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Україна | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Capital and largest city | Kyiv |
| Dominant mode of production | Capitalism |
| Government | Unitary republic |
• President | Volodymyr Zelensky |
• Prime Minister | Denys Shmyhal |
| History | |
• Secession from USSR | 1991 August 24 |
• Euromaidan coup | 2014 February 22 |
| Area | |
• Total | 603,628 km² |
| Population | |
• Estimate | 41,487,960 |
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It was originally part of the Russian Empire.
Current socialist and communist political parties in Ukraine include the Communist Party of Ukraine, and the Union of Communists of Ukraine.
History
Soviet era
The concept of Ukraine has only come into being since the beginning of the Soviet Union, when the Soviet government decided to unite what had previously been 9 separate districts in the Russian Empire. The region was named after the term "Ukraine" ("borderlands" in Russian). Much of the western part of Ukraine was part of Poland, annexed for the first time into either Russia or Ukraine during World War 2. Crimea was incorporated into Ukraine for the first time in 1954, after having been in the Russian SFSR since the start of the Soviet Union, and having been part of different districts since before even the Tsardom.
Transition to capitalism
On August 24, 1991, the Ukrainian SSR seceded from the Soviet Union.[1] As a result, life expectancy dropped by three years, not recovering until 2010,[2] and poverty increased from 2% in the late 1980s to 63% in the mid-1990s.[3]
2014 coup d'état
In 2014 the United States of America helped finance and arm a coup d'état to overthrow the government of Ukraine, because of its allegiance to Russia. As a result there has been a subsequent rise of Nazism in Ukraine, especially in the government of Ukraine, two regions have seceded to form their own governments, and Crimea has voted to rejoin the Russian Federation. After the coup, the Ukrainian government banned communist symbols, and anyone who sings the anthem of the USSR may be sent to prison for up to five years.[4]
Soviet Nostalgia
Despite the anti-communist laws, many people say life was better under socialism. Only 30% of Ukrainian's supported the change to a multiparty system and less than a quarter believe that the dissolution of the Soviet Union was good for Ukraine.[5][6]
History
- ↑ Act of Declaration of Independence of Ukraine (1991-08-24). Verkhnovna Rada of Ukraine. Archived from the original on 2009-09-30.
- ↑ United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2019). World Population Prospects 2019, Online Edition. United Nations.
- ↑ Branko Milanovic (1998). Income, Inequality and Poverty during the Transition from Planned to Market Economy. [PDF] Washington, D.C.: World Bank.
- ↑ Alec Luhn (2015-05-21). "Ukraine bans Soviet symbols and criminalises sympathy for communism" The Guardian. Retrieved 2012-12-30.
- ↑ Neli Esipova, Julie Ray (2013-12-19). "Former Soviet Countries See More Harm From Breakup" Gallup. Retrieved 2021-12-30.
- ↑ End of Communism Cheered but Now with More Reservations (2009).