Ukraine was the center of the first
eastern Slavic state, Kyivan Rus, which during the 10th and 11th
centuries was the largest and most powerful state in Europe. Weakened
by internecine quarrels and Mongol invasions, Kyivan Rus was
incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and eventually into the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The cultural and religious legacy of
Kyivan Rus laid the foundation for Ukrainian nationalism through
subsequent centuries. A new Ukrainian state, the Cossack Hetmanate, was
established during the mid-17th century after an uprising against the
Poles. Despite continuous Muscovite pressure, the Hetmanate managed to
remain autonomous for well over 100 years. During the latter part of
the 18th century, most Ukrainian ethnographic territory was absorbed by
the Russian Empire. Following the collapse of czarist Russia in 1917,
Ukraine was able to bring about a short-lived period of independence
(1917-20), but was reconquered and forced to endure a brutal Soviet
rule that engineered two artificial famines (1921-22 and 1932-33) in
which over 8 million died. In World War II, German and Soviet armies
were responsible for some 7 to 8 million more deaths. Although final
independence for Ukraine was achieved in 1991 with the dissolution of
the USSR, democracy remained elusive as the legacy of state control and
endemic corruption stalled efforts at economic reform, privatization,
and civil liberties. A peaceful mass protest "Orange Revolution" in the
closing months of 2004 forced the authorities to overturn a rigged
presidential election and to allow a new internationally monitored vote
that swept into power a reformist slate under Viktor YUSHCHENKO.
Subsequent internal squabbles in the YUSHCHENKO camp allowed his rival
Viktor YANUKOVYCH to stage a comeback in parliamentary elections and
become prime minister in August of 2006. An early legislative election,
brought on by a political crisis in the spring of 2007, saw Yuliya
TYMOSHENKO, as head of an "Orange" coalition, installed as a new prime
minister in December 2007.
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