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History of Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe and the second-largest country in Europe after Russia.. 6 eras, 882 CE to today.

Kievan Rus', 882 CE–1240 Draft, not yet reviewed

Kievan Rus' was the first East Slavic state and, later, an amalgam of principalities, in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century. Kievan Rus' reached its greatest extent under Yaroslav the Wise, and his sons issued its first written legal code, the Russkaya Pravda, shortly after his death. The state began to decline in the late 11th century, gradually disintegrating into various rival regional powers throughout the 12th century. It finally fell to the Mongol invasion in the mid-13th century.

Seat of power: Kyiv

Rulers

Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, 1199–1349 Draft, not yet reviewed

The Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia was a medieval state in Eastern Europe which existed from 1199 to 1349. Roman the Great united the principalities of Galicia and Volhynia at the turn of the 13th century. Prince Daniel of Galicia and other princes of Rus' pledged allegiance to Batu Khan of the Golden Horde in 1246. In 1253 Daniel was crowned King of Ruthenia by the Pope in an attempt to create an anti-Mongol alliance.

Seat of power: Halych

Cossack Hetmanate, 1648–1764 Draft, not yet reviewed

The Cossack Hetmanate, officially the Zaporozhian Host, was a stratocratic state established by Registered Cossacks in Dnieper Ukraine. The Hetmanate existed between 1648 and 1764, although its administrative-judicial system persisted until 1781. The 1667 Treaty of Andrusovo, conducted without any representation from the Cossack Hetmanate, divided the Hetmanate in half along the Dnieper. Catherine II of Russia officially abolished the position of Hetman in 1764.

Seat of power: Baturyn

Rulers

Ukrainian People's Republic, 1917–1921 Draft, not yet reviewed

The Ukrainian People's Republic was a short-lived state in Eastern Europe. Following the October Revolution, the Central Council of Ukraine denounced the Bolshevik seizure of power and proclaimed the establishment of the Ukrainian People's Republic. The republic formally declared its independence from Russia on 22 January 1918. As a result of the fighting, Soviet Russia managed to extend its control over what would ultimately become the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, which became a founding member of the Soviet Union in 1922.

Seat of power: Kyiv

Rulers

Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1919–1991 Draft, not yet reviewed

The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. Under the Soviet one-party model, the Ukrainian SSR was governed by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union through its republican branch, the Communist Party of Ukraine. In 1922, it was one of four Soviet republics that signed the Treaty on the Creation of the Soviet Union. Upon the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine declared independence and became the present-day independent state of Ukraine.

Seat of power: Kyiv

Rulers

Ukraine, 1991 to today Draft, not yet reviewed

Ukraine gained independence in 1991 as the Soviet Union dissolved, declaring itself neutral. The Orange Revolution of 2004–2005 ushered electoral and constitutional reforms. Resurgent political crises prompted a series of mass demonstrations in 2014 known as the Euromaidan, leading to a revolution, at the end of which Russia unilaterally occupied and annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, and pro-Russian unrest culminated in a war in Donbas with Russia and Russian-backed separatists. The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine began a new phase of the war.

Seat of power: Kyiv

Rulers

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.