A HISTORICAL OUTLINE OF UKRAINE

Ukrainians have lived in the territory of present-day Ukraine for millennia. The roots of the Ukrainian nation are found in the Trypillian culture, which evolved in the Middle Dnipro region in the third millennium BC, the heritage of the Scythian tribes, and the Chernykiv culture. More than 1100 years ago Kievan Rus' – Ukraine – a powerful European medieval monarchy, was established (Sybstelniy, 1991).

During 1917–1921, eastern Ukraine became the theater of war of six different armies and the events of those years had a revolutionary significance for the social, economic, and national evolution of Ukraine. The Russian Bolsheviks were forced to take into account national sentiment when they established Soviet rule in Ukraine (Zinkewych and Hula, 1993). For decades the Ukrainian Republic was a constituent member of the USSR and despite its dependence on Union decisions and structures, the international status of Ukraine as a state in its own right increased over the years.

On July 16, 1990 the Supreme Rada of Ukraine adopted an important historic document – the “Act” – proclaiming Ukrainian state sovereignty, independence, and indivisibility of power within the boundaries of Ukrainian territory, and independence, and equality in conducting foreign relations. On August 24, 1991 the Supreme Rada, in effecting this declaration and proceeding from the right to self-determination, proclaimed the independence of Ukraine.

ECOLOGICAL FEATURES

The main characteristic of Ukraine's geography is its plains, which compose 70 percent of the country's land area.