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15 Great Facts About Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe and is the second-largest European country after Russia which borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately 600,000 square kilometers. Prior to the ongoing Russian invasion, Ukraine was the eighth-most populous country in Europe. It has a population of around 36 million people. 

Kyiv is the nation’s capital and largest city. Ukraine’s state language is Ukrainian however, Russian is widely spoken especially in the east and south. In the Middle Ages, Ukraine was the site of early Slavic expansion and the area later became a key center of East Slavic culture under the state of Kievan Rus’ which emerged in the 9th century.

Ukraine was a developing country that ranked 77th on the Human Development Index. Ukraine is the poorest country in Europe by nominal GDP per capita, and the significant issue is corruption. Although the country has been labeled as the poorest, with its extensive fertile land, pre-war Ukraine was one of the largest grain exporters in the world.

Ukraine is a founding member of the United Nations and it is also a member of the Council of Europe, the World Trade Organization, and the OSCE. Ukraine is in the process of joining the European Union and has submitted an application for NATO membership.

1. The 19th and Early 20th Century History

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The 19th century saw the rise of Ukrainian nationalism. With growing urbanization and modernization, the Ukrainian intelligentsia committed to national rebirth and social justice emerged. Ukraine joined the Industrial Revolution later than most of Western Europe due to the maintenance of serfdom until 1861.

The Austrian part of Ukraine was particularly destitute creating the backbone of an extensive Ukrainian diaspora in countries such as Canada, the United States, and Brazil. According to the 1897 census, there were 223,000 ethnic Ukrainians in Siberia and 102,000 in Central Asia. An additional 1.6 million emigrated to the east in the ten years after the opening of the Trans-Siberian Railway in 1906. Far eastern areas with an ethnic Ukrainian population were later known as Green Ukraine.

2. Effects of WWI on Ukraine

At the beginning of World War 1, every war that was fought on Ukrainian soil persisted until late 1921. The Ukrainians were spilt between Austria-Hungary and the vast majority served in the Imperial Russian Army which was part of the Triple Entente under Russia.

When the Russian Empire collapsed the conflict evolved into the Ukrainian War of Independence, Ukrainians fought alongside or against the Red, White, Black, and Green armies with the Poles, Hungarians, and Germans also intervening at various times.

When tensions became worse, the left-leaning Ukrainian People’s Republic attempted to create an independent state. However, the UNR was plagued by an extremely unstable political and military environment. It was first deposed in a coup d’etat that was led by Pavlo Skoropaskyi, it yielded the Ukrainian State under the German protectorate, and the attempt to restore the UNR under the Directorate failed. This led to the Ukranian being regularly overrun by other forces and Ukraine being known as the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.

The war over Ukraine left over 1.5 million people dead and hundreds of thousands homeless in the former Russian Empire’s territory. 

3. Tensions With The Ukrainian Population

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In 1935, after Marshal Jozef Pilsudski’s death, the Polish government restricted rights to anyone who declared Ukrainian nationality and belonged to the Eastern Orthodox. This led to the rise of an underground Ukrainian nationalist and militant movement in the 1920s and 1930s. Slowly, the movement turned into the Ukrainian Military Organization and later the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists.

Soviet Ukraine became one of the founding republics of the Soviet Union. The leadership at first encouraged a national renaissance in Ukrainian culture and language. Ukrainisation was part of the Soviet-wide policy of Korenisation, this was intended to promote the advancement of native peoples, their language, and culture into the governance of their respective republics. These policies attracted may be prominent former UNR figures to return to Soviet Ukraine, they participated in the advancement of Ukrainian science and culture.

4. World War II in Soviet Ukraine

After the invasion of Poland during the first war, German and Soviet troops divided the territory of Poland. This led to Eastern Galicia and Volhynia with their Ukrainian population becoming part of Ukraine. Later in 1940, the Ukrainian SSR incorporated the northern and southern districts of Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina, and the Hertsa region from the territories the USSR forced Romania to cede. These territorial gains of the USSR were internationally recognized by the Paris peace treaties of 1947.

On June 1941, German armies invaded the Soviet Union and initiated nearly four years of total war. When Germany won, most of the Ukrainian SSR was organized within the Reichskommissariat Ukraine with the intention of exploiting its resources and eventual German settlement. The Nazis preserved the collective-farm system, carried out genocidal policies against Jews, deported millions of people to work in Germany, and began a depopulation program to prepare for German colonization.

5. Organizations Rise Against The Nazis

In Western Ukraine an independent Ukrainian Insurgent Army movement arose, it was created as the armed forces of the underground Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists. Both organizations supported the goal of an independent Ukrainian state on the territory with a Ukrainian ethnic majority.

From 1943 until the end of the war, the UIA which was later named the UPA carried out massacres of ethnic Poles in the Volhynia and Eastern Galicia region, killing around 100,000 Polish civilians. These massacres were an attempt by the OUN to create a homogeneous Ukrainian state without a Polish minority living within its borders. The war went on until the 1950s when the Ukrainian Liberation Army, a nationalist movement, fought alongside the Nazis.

6. The Rebuilding of Soviet Ukraine

The aftermath of WWII caused heavy damage to the republic and there were significant efforts that were required to recover it. More than 700 cities and towns and 28,000 villages were destroyed, and the situation didn’t get better during the 1946-1947 famine. The famine was caused by a drought and the wartime destruction of infrastructure. 

In 1945, the Ukrainian SSR became one of the founding members of the United Nations and was part of a special agreement at the Yalta Conference. Even though it wasn’t independent, they had voting rights in the UN. Ukraine expanded its borders as it annexed Zakarpattia, and the population became much more homogenized due to post-war population transfers.

7. The Growth and Recognization of Ukraine

Following the death of Stalin in 1953, Nikita Khrushchev became the new leader of the USSR. He began the policies of de-Stalinization ad the Khrushchev Thaw. During his term, Crimea was transferred from the Russian SFSR to the Ukrainian SSR as a friendship gift to Ukraine and for economic reasons. This represented the final extension of Ukrainian territory and the internationally recognized borders of Ukraine to this day.

Ukraine was one of the most important republics of the Soviet Union which resulted in many top positions in the Soviet Union being occupied by Ukrainians. This resulted in many top positions in the Soviet Union being occupied by Ukrainians including Leonid Brezhnev, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1942 to 1982.

In 1950, the republic had overcome the pre-war levels of industry and production and soon became a European leader in industrial production. Soviet Ukraine also became an important center of the Soviet arms industry ad high-tech research. The Soviet government invested in hydroelectric and nuclear power projects to cater to the energy demand that the development carried. 

8. Independence

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On 16 July 1990, the newly elected Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty of Ukraine. It was after a putsch of some Communist leaders in Moscow failed to depose Gorbachov, that outright independence was proclaimed on 24 August 1991. It was approved by 92% of the Ukrainian electorate in a referendum on 1 December

.Ukraine’s new President Leonid Kravchul went on to sign the Belavezha Accords and made Ukraine a founding member of the much looser Commonwealth of Independent States. These documents sealed the fate of the Soviet Union which formed voted itself out of existence on 26 December.

9. The Climate In Ukraine

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Ukraine has a mostly temperate climate except for the southern coast of Crimea which has a subtropical climate. The climate is influenced by moderately warm, humid air from the Atlantic Ocean. Water availability from the major river basins is expected to decrease due to climate change.

This poses risks to the agricultural sector, and the negative impacts of climate change on agriculture are mostly felt in the south of the country. While in the north, some crops may be able to benefit from a longer growing season. The World Bank has stated that Ukraine is highly vulnerable to climate change.

10. Foreign Relations of Ukraine

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Soviet Ukraine joined the United Nations in 1945 as one of its original members following a Western compromise with the Soviet Union. Ukraine has consistently supported peaceful, negotiated settlements to disputes. It has participated in the quadripartite talks on the conflict in Moldova and promoted a peaceful resolution to the conflict in the post-Soviet state of Georgia. 

Since 1992, Ukraine has made contributions to UN peacekeeping operations. In 1992, Ukraine joined the then-Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, it is now known as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Ukraine also became a member of the North Atlantic Cooperation Council. It is the most active member of the Partnership for Peace. 

All major political parties in Ukraine support full eventual integration into the European Union. In 2014, the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union was signed.

11. The Administrative Divisions 

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The populated places in Ukraine are split into two categories urban and rural. The urban populated areas are split further into cities and urban-type settlements while the rural populated places consist of villages and settlements. All cities have a certain degree of self-rule depending on their significance such as regional significance, national significance, or district significance.

A city’s significance depends on several factors such as its population, socioeconomic and historical importance, and infrastructure.

12. The Economy of Ukraine

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In 2021, Ukraine was labeled one of the world’s largest wheat exporters this doesn’t hide the fact that it is still one of the poorest countries in Europe with the lowest nominal GDP per capita. As of 2022, corruption is still a widespread issue and the country was even rated 122nd out of 180 in the Corruption Perceptions Index of 2021.

In 2021, Ukraine’s GDP per capita by purchasing power parity was just over $14,000. The IMF expected the economy to shrink considerably by 35% in 2022 due to Russia’s invasion. The estimate was that post-war reconstruction costs might reach half a trillion dollars.

In 2021, mineral commodities and the light industry were important sectors. Ukraine produces nearly all types of transportation vehicles and spacecraft. 

13.  The Tourism Rate

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The number of tourists visiting Ukraine before the Russo-Ukrainian war was eighth in Europe. According to the World Tourism Organization rankings, Ukraine has numerous tourist attractions like mountain ranges suitable for skiing, hiking, and fishing, the Black Sea coastline, nature reserves of different ecosystems, churches, castle ruins, and other architectural landmarks.

The Seven Wonder of Ukraine and Seven Natural Wonder of Ukraine are selections of the most important landmarks of Ukraine that were chosen by Ukrainian experts and an internet-based public vote. In 2014, tourism was the mainstay of Crimea’s economy before a major fall in visitor numbers following the Russian annexation.

14. The Agricultural Status of Ukraine

Ukraine is known to be among the World’s top agricultural producers and exporters. It is often described as the ‘Bread Basket of Europe’ During the 2020/21 International Wheat Marketing season, it was ranked as the sixth largest wheat exporter which accounts for 9% of the world wheat trade. Ukraine is also a major global exporter of maize, barley, and rapeseed. 

In 2020/21, Ukraine accounted for 12 percent of global trade in maize and barley and for 14 percent of world rapeseed exports. Its trade share is greater in the sunflower oil sector and accounts for about 50% of world exports in 2020/21.

It has been noted that more than 30 nations depend on Ukraine and the Russian Federation for over 30 percent of their wheat needs, many of them in North Africa and Western and Central Asia.

15. The Ukrainian Architecture

Ukrainian architecture includes the motifs and styles that are found in structures built in modern Ukraine. These include initial roots that were established in the state of Kievan Rus’. Ukrainian architecture has been influenced by Byzantine architecture. After the Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus’, it continued to develop in the kingdom of Galicia-Volhynia.

After the union of Tsardom of Russia, architecture in Ukraine began to develop in different directions with many structures in the larger eastern, Russian-ruled area. This area was built in the styles of Russian architecture of that period while the western region of Galicia developed under Polish and Austro-Hungarian architectural influences.