Ukraine
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
Leonid Kravchuk
President of Ukraine, 1991–1994
Kravchuk's presidency was marked by Ukraine achieving independence from the Soviet Union, the handover of its post-Soviet nuclear arsenal and an economic crisis that ultimately resulted in him losing re-election. Kravchuk became Ukraine's first democratically elected president in 1991.
Portrait of Leonid Kravchuk: Yuriy Ivanov / Юрий Иванов, CC BY-SA 3.0, file
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Leonid Kuchma
President of Ukraine, 1994–2005
Kuchma took office after winning the 1994 presidential election against his rival, incumbent President Leonid Kravchuk. Kuchma's administration began a campaign of media censorship in 1999, leading to arrests of journalists, the death of Georgiy Gongadze, and the subsequent Cassette Scandal and mass protests. Kuchma declined to seek a third term in office, instead supporting Party of Regions candidate Viktor Yanukovych for the 2004 election.
Portrait of Leonid Kuchma: president.gov.ua, CC BY 4.0, file
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Viktor Yushchenko
President of Ukraine, 2005–2010
He aimed to orient Ukraine towards the West, European Union, the G7, and NATO. Yushchenko won the revote 52% to 44%. The rest of his presidency was marked by infighting, legislative deadlock and coalition crises in 2007 and in 2008.
Portrait of Viktor Yushchenko: Secretariat of the President of Ukraine, CC BY 4.0, file
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Viktor Yanukovych
President of Ukraine, 2010–2014
His years in power saw what analysts described as democratic backsliding, which included the jailing of Tymoshenko, a decline in press freedom and an increase in cronyism and corruption. In November 2013, Yanukovych suddenly withdrew from signing an association agreement with the EU, amidst economic pressure from Russia. Yanukovych was removed from the presidency during the 2014 Revolution of Dignity, which followed months of protests against him.
Portrait of Viktor Yanukovych: Administration of the President of Ukraine, CC BY 4.0, file
Petro Poroshenko
President of Ukraine, 2014–2019
During his presidency, Poroshenko led the country through the first phase of the war in Donbas, recovering most of the Donbas Region from the Russian separatist forces. In September 2014 and February 2015, Poroshenko would sign the Minsk Agreements effectively freezing the frontlines and greatly reducing casualties in the ongoing war. Poroshenko began the process of integration with the European Union by signing the European Union–Ukraine Association Agreement in June 2014.
Portrait of Petro Poroshenko: http://www.president.gov.ua/, CC BY 4.0, file
Oleksandr Turchynov
President of Ukraine, 2014–2014
Turchynov is a former acting President of Ukraine from the removal from power of President Viktor Yanukovych on 21 February 2014, until Petro Poroshenko was sworn in as Ukrainian President on 7 June 2014. He then became Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament until 27 November 2014.
Portrait of Oleksandr Turchynov: Roman Kubanskiyoriginal: Saeima, CC BY-SA 2.0, file
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
President of Ukraine, 2019 to today
He took office five years after the start of the Russo-Ukrainian war with Russia's annexation of Crimea and invasion of the Donbas, and has continued to serve during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has been ongoing since February 2022. He won the election with 73.23 percent of the vote in the second round, defeating incumbent president Petro Poroshenko in the biggest landslide in the history of Ukrainian presidential elections. As president, Zelenskyy has been a proponent of e-government, and of unity between the Ukrainian- and Russian-speaking parts of the country's population.
Portrait of Volodymyr Zelenskyy: Press Service of the President of Ukraine, CC BY 4.0, file
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Culture
- A new constitution was adopted in 1996 as the country transitioned to a free market liberal democracy amid endemic corruption and a legacy of state control.
- Since the start of Ukraine's independence movement in 1990, the square has been the traditional place for political rallies, including four large-scale radical protest campaigns: the 1990 student Revolution on Granite, the 2001 Ukraine without Kuchma campaign, the 2004 Orange Revolution and the 2013–14 Euromaidan.
- The square contains the iconic Independence Monument. In addition, since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the square also hosts a makeshift memorial commemorating those killed in the conflict.
- Due to its extensive fertile land, the country is an important exporter of grain, though grain production has declined since 2022 due to the Russo-Ukrainian war, endangering global food security.
Picture
Maidan Nezalezhnosti or Independence Square is the central town square of Kyiv, the capital city of Ukraine.
Image: Juan Antonio Segal, CC BY-SA 4.0, file
Sources
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.