Professor of Geography, University of Windsor, Ontario, Can. Ukrainian writers and intellectuals were inspired by the nationalistic spirit stirring other European peoples existing under other imperial governments. Soon after, pro-Russian unrest enveloped the largely Russophone eastern and southern regions of Ukraine, from where Yanukovych had drawn most of his support. An Independent Nation. Ukraine - Infoplease: An Online Encyclopedia, Almanac, Atlas Part of Scythia in antiquity and settled by the Greuthungi and Getae in the migration period, Ukraine is also the site of early Slavic expansion, and enters written history with the establishment of the medieval state of Kievan Rus', which emerged as a powerful nation in the Middle Ages but disintegrated by the mid-12th century. Larger saline lakes occur along the coast. Why Ukraine Is Such A Big Deal For Russia : Parallels : NPR Jacek Staszewski, August II Mocny, Wrocaw 1998, p. 100. It had, however, overestimated Gorbachev's intentions. In 1991, at the beginning of the end of the Soviet Union, Ukraine declared independence after nearly 70 years under Moscow's control. Ukraine, which included Crimea, the Kuban, and portions of Don Cossack lands with large Ukrainian populations (along with ethnic Russians, and Jews), tried to break free from Russia after the February 1917 revolution in St. Petersburg. When the Soviet Union began to unravel in 199091, the legislature of the Ukrainian S.S.R. The 20th-Century History Behind Russia's Invasion of Ukraine Coauthor of. [99] On February 24, 2022, Russian forces invaded Ukraine. The war stalled until 24 February 2022, when Russia launched a major invasion of much of the country. Three large artesian basinsthe Volyn-Podilsk, the Dnieper, and the Black Seaare exceptionally important for municipal needs and agriculture as well. Previously, Vladimir the Great had established the cities of Halych and Volodymyr as regional capitals. Cabo Verde. Ben Pile (@clim8resistance) / Twitter [93][94] The decision of the National Security and Defense Council and the Presidential Decree of February 19, 2021 imposed sanctions on 8 individuals and 19 legal entities, including Putin's pro-Russian politician and Putin's godfather Viktor Medvedchuk and his wife Oksana Marchenko. The journey to independence started in August 1991, when the Ukrainian parliament set . With the dissolution of the U.S.S.R. in December 1991, Ukraine gained full independence. [36] The Russophile policies of Russification and Panslavism led to an exodus of a number of Ukrainian intellectuals into Western Ukraine. From the 4th to 7th centuries the first Slavic community was established in the area. U.S. relations with the Ukraine have, however, been complicated by Ukraine's historical relationship with Russia. In 882, Kyiv was founded by the Varangian noble Oleh (Oleg), who started the long period of rule of the Rurikid princes. [95][96], The Kerch Strait incident occurred on 25 November 2018 when the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) coast guard fired upon and captured three Ukrainian Navy vessels attempting to pass from the Black Sea into the Sea of Azov through the Kerch Strait on their way to the port of Mariupol.