Ukraine. From old Slavic roots to a modern European country

UKRAINE From old Slavic roots to a modern European country

GEOGRAPHY

Capital: Kyiv (Київ) Official language: Ukrainian Area: 603 700 sq. km Population 47 732 079 Independence: August 24, 1991 Time zone:GMT+2 Currency: Hryvnia (UAH) Administrative division: 1 autonomous republic, 24 oblasts, 2 cities with the special status (Kyiv, Sevastopol) Av. winter temp.: -8°..-12° C Av. summer temp: +18°..+25° C http://www.myukraine.info

Scythians and Sarmatians VII cent. BC

Ukrainian Eastern steppes, where the nomad tribes of Scythians and Sarmatias built their kingdoms

The tribes of Slavs V cent. AD

Old Slavs settled the territories of Central and Eastern Europe, which starts from the Elbe and Oder on the west through the basin of Vistula up to the Dniestr and middle Dnieper on the east.

Holodomor (famine) 1932-1933

The Russian archives have shown that excess deaths in Ukraine numbered 1.54 mln. Others, contrary to the declassified demographic reports, have put forth from 2.5 to 4.8 mln. of people lives. Most scholars today see the famine as a policy blunder that affected millions belonging to other nationalities.

The tribes of Slavs

The Slavs are customarily divided into three major subgroups: East Slavs, West Slavs, and South Slavs, each with a different and a diverse background based on unique history, religion and culture of particular Slavic group within them.

KYIVAN RUS’ IX-XII cent. AD

Kyivan Rus′ was the early, mostly East Slavic state dominated by the city of Kyiv. From the historigraphical point of view, Kyivan Rus' is considered a predecessor state of three modern East Slavic nations: Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. The reigns of Vladimir the Great (980-1015) and his son Yaroslav I the Wise (1019-1054) constitute the Golden Age of Kyiv, which saw the acceptance of Orthodox Christianity and the creation of the first East Slavic written legal code, the Ruska Pravda.

Christianization of Kyivan Rus’

St. Vladimir Svyatoslavich the Great (c. 958 – 1015) was the grand prince of Kyiv who converted to Christianity in 988, and proceeded to baptise the whole Kyivan Rus. The annals of Rus state that when Vladimir had decided to accept a new faith instead of the traditional idol-worship of the Slavs, he sent out his most valued advisors and warriors as emissaries to different parts of Europe. After visiting the Roman Catholics, the Jews and the Muslims, they finally arrived in Constantinople.

There, they were so astounded by the beauty of the cathedral of Hagia Sophia and the liturgical service held there, that they made up their minds there and then about the faith they would like to follow. Upon their arrival home, they convinced Vladimir that the faith of the Greeks was the best choice of all, upon which Vladimir made a journey to Constantinople and arranged a marriage between himself and Princess Anna, the sister of the Byzantine emperor Basil II.

Life of Kyivan Rus’

Kyivan Rus’ was not only the largest contemporary European state in terms of area but also one of the most culturally advanced. At the time when only a few European monarchs could spell their name, most children in Kyiv, Novgorod and other large cities were literate.

When most legal codes of Europe regarded torture as a preferred way of eliciting truth and often abused death penalty, the Ruska Pravda confined punishments to fines and did not provide for capital punishment at all. Certain inalienable rights were accorded to women, such as the property and inheritance rights. Kyiv became the capital of Kyivan Rus’.

Golden Age and decline of Kyivan Rus’ In the XI century, Kyivan Rus’ was, geographically, the largest state in Europe, becoming known in the rest of Europe as Ruthenia (the Latin name for Rus', especially for western principalities of Rus' after the Mongol invasion ). The name "Ukraine", meaning "border-land", first appears in recorded history on maps of the period. The meaning of this term seems to have been synonymous with the land of Rus' propria - the principalities of Kyiv, Chernihiv and Pereyaslav. The term, "Greater Rus' was used to apply to all the lands ruled by Kyiv.

Local regional subdivisions of Rus' appeared in the Slavic heartland, including, "Belarus" (White Ruthenia), "Chorna Rus'" (Black Ruthenia) and "Cherven Rus" (Red Ruthenia) in north-western and western Ukraine.

Conflict among the various principalities of Rus', in spite of the efforts of Grand Prince Vladimir Monomakh, led to decline, beginning in the XII century. In Rus' propria, the Kyiv region, the nascent Ruthenian/Ukrainian principalities of Halych and Volynia extended their rule. In the north, the name of Moscow appeared in the historical record in the principality of Suzdal, which gave rise to the nation of Russia. In the north-west, the principality of Polotsk increasingly asserted the autonomy of Belarus'. Kyiv was sacked by Vladimir principality (1169), Polovtzians and Mongol raiders in the XII and XIII centuries.

Subsequently, all principalities of Ukraine acknowledged dependence upon the Mongols. The Mongol overlordship was very cruel, and people often fled to other countries. Ukrainian settlements appeared in Poland and Hungary.

Halych-Volynia 1200-1400 AD

A successor state to Kyivan Rus' on part of the territory of today's Ukraine was the principality of Halych-Volynia. In the XIII century, the city of L'viv eventually became the national capital. This new, more exclusively Ukrainian state was based upon the Dulibian, Tivertsian and Bilyy Khorvaty (White Croatian) tribes. Battles with the neighboring states of Poland and Lithuania also occurred, as well as internecine warfare with the independent Ukrainian principality of Chernihiv to the east. The nation reached its peak with the extension of rule to neighboring Wallachia/Bessarabia, all the way to the shores of the Black Sea.

Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth XVI cent.

After the Union of Lublin in 1569 and the formation of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Ukraine fell under Polish administration, becoming part of the Crown of the Polish Kingdom. The period immediately following the creation of the Commonwealth saw a huge revitalization in colonization efforts. Many new cities and villages were founded.

Cossack Era XVII-XVIII cent.

The 1648 Ukrainian Cossack rebellion and war of independence (Khmelnytsky Uprising). The nascent Cossack state, the Zaporozhian Host, usually viewed as precursor of Ukraine, found itself in a three-sided military and diplomatic rivalry with the Ottoman Turks, who controlled the Tatars to the south, the Commonwealth of Poland and Lithuania, and the rising Muscovite Russia to the East.

Cossacks are a people living in the southern steppe regions of Eastern Europe and Asian Russia, famous for their self-reliance and military skills.

Life of Cossacks

The reconstituted Ukrainian state, having recently fought a bitter war with Poland, sought a treaty of protection with Russia in 1654. This agreement was known as the Treaty of Pereyaslav. Under Russia, the Cossacks initially retained official autonomy in the Hetmanate. For a time, they also maintained a semiindependent republic in Zaporizhzhya, and a colony on the Russian frontier in Sloboda Ukraine.

Renaissance period XVIII-XIX cent.

“How is he not to lose happiness if instead of service he brings harm to his friends, close and remote kinsmen of his own and other nations? How is he to avoid hurting them when he brings injury to society? How is he to avoid this injury, if he fulfils his role badly? ” “Gratitude is the stability and health of the heart accepting everything as a blessing.… The fruits of the happy life are joy, gladness and satisfaction; their root and fruit-laden tree is the heart's peace, and the seed of this root is gratitude. It is the pure spirit, peaceful, good humored, fragrant.”

“Philosophy, or love of wisdom directs all its efforts to the end of giving life to our spirit, nobility to our heart, light to our thoughts, which are the head of everything. When the spirit in man is gay, the thoughts quiet, the heart peaceful, then everything is bright, happy, and blessed. This is philosophy.”

The beginnings of modern Ukrainian literature stem from mid-18th century wandering philosopher Hryhorii Skovoroda, the Ukrainian Socrates. Skovoroda wrote poems and philosophical tracts in Ukrainian, aimed at the common person rather than the elite.

Renaissance period XVIII-XIX cent. ...And what will sprout? You soon will see What kind of harvest there will be!

Come to your senses, ruthless ones, O stupid children, Folly's sons!

And bring that peaceful paradise, Your own Ukraine, before your eyes; Then let your heart, in love sincere, Embrace her mighty ruin here!

Break then your chains, in love unite, Nor seek in foreign lands the sight Of things not even found above, Still less in lands that strangers love...

My Friendly Epistle

Taras Shevchenko, an ardent nationalist who was born a serf in 1814 and became a national hero, was the first major writer in Ukrainian. His literary heritage is regarded to be the foundation of modern Ukrainian literature and, to a large extent, of modern Ukrainian language. Shevchenko also left several masterpiece paintings.

Ukrainian People’s Republic beginning of XX cent.

Hrushevsky monument in Kyiv

The Ukrainian People's Republic was formed after the Russian Revolution of 1917, and lasted until the Peace of Riga between Poland and Soviet Russia in March, 1921. The socialist Central Rada was established in March 1917. Its first president was the respected historian Mykhailo Hrushevsky, later Volodymyr Vinnychenko and Symon Petliura. As a result of the PolishSoviet War the western part of the traditional territory of Ukraine, as well as a large part of the Volyn territory had been incorporated into Poland, and the larger central parts, eastern and southern areas became part of the Soviet Union.

Classic literature in Ukraine …I have not lived long in this world, Yet I have learned to take account Of what I got from life—not much, But none the less, a fair amount.

It taught me to perceive the good, Gave me a glimpse of learning's wealth, Put love for justice in my soul, Gave me two Eands to work and health.

It gave me friendship, mutual love, Although not always strong and deep.

It said: "Go sow thy seed, although Thy hand may not the harvest reap.“…

The most talented and prolific writer of the early 20th century was Ivan Franko, whose work spanned fiction, poetry, drama, philosophy and children's stories. He was a political radical, and a founder of the socialist movement in western Ukraine. In addition to his own literary work, he also translated the works of Shakespeare, Lord Byron, Pedro Calderón de la Barca, Dante, Victor Hugo, Goethe and Schiller into the Ukrainian language. Franko has had a tremendous impact on modern literary and political thought in Ukraine.

Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic 1922-1991

Until the early 1930s, Ukrainian culture enjoyed a widespread revival due to Bolshevik concessions known as the policy of “indigenization�. In these years an impressive Ukrainization program was implemented throughout the republic. In such conditions, the Ukrainian national idea initially continued to develop and even spread to a large territory with traditionally mixed population in the east and south that became part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.

World War II 1939-1945

8 million of civilian losses

Dissident Movement 1960s Weep, sky, weep and weep! Wash the unabated sea Of thin-voiced waters and dampen the heart.

It seems it was just now, just yesterday That a deathly shiver buried you alive.

Weep, sky, weep and weep! The past cannot be returned.

Today has been reduced to naught, the future will not come.

Something weighs on the mind that can never Be torn from the heart. This prison is a prison for prisons!

Weep, sky, weep and weep! Still over your horizons And let the stars fall from darkened skies! ‌

Many writers made the Soviet occupation their subject, and many suffered for it. Vasyl Stus’ Winter Trees (1968) and Candle in the Mirror (1977) set the agony of dissidence to poetry. For his political convictions, his works were banned by the Soviet regime and he spent 23 years (about a half of his life) in detention. Stus eventually was killed in a Soviet labour camp.

The Chernobyl Disaster `86

Catastrophic steam explosion on a Nuclear plant in Chernobyl caused fire, explosions and a nuclear meltdown

Obtaining independence 1991

On August 24, 1991 the Parliament of Ukraine (Verkhovna Rada) adopted the Act on the Independence of Ukraine.

Orange Revolution Autumn 2004

Modern life style

OUR COUNTRY

Northern UKRAINE

Eastern UKRAINE

Central UKRAINE

Southern UKRAINE

Western UKRAINE

CRIMEA

KYIV, the Capital

FALL IN LOVE WITH UKRAINE

Ukrainian F4F team Prepared for the European Saeima, 2006