Ukraine: A History
March 2, 2022
Like any country, Ukraine has had a long and complicated history. In recent years, the country’s fertile plains have placed it among the world’s top exporters of cereals and cooking oils, and have made it the 10th largest agricultural producing country on the planet. However, agriculture makes up only about 9% of the nation’s GDP, and most wealth is concentrated in cities. Kyiv and L’viv are just like any other European major city, and host vibrant local cultures and an overabundance of street-side coffee-shops.
Over the past few centuries, Ukraine has been controlled by a variety of different nations. Before this, however, Ukraine was the largest and most powerful country in Europe. Keivan Rus’, as it was called, had its golden age from the 10th to 13th centuries. Over the next few hundred years, however, Ukraine’s influence would weaken, and by the 1600’s, it would fall under the control of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Through a series of wars over the next century, control of Ukraine would be transferred to the Russian Empire. After a brief period of independence after the first world war (ruled by a dictator), Ukraine would become part of the USSR. Following the student-lead Revolution on Granite protests, the country would soon gain independence and the USSR would be dissolved.
The Orange Revolution lead to the ousting of a corrupt president, in 2004. When this man, Viktor Yanukovych, was elected again, he steered the foreign policy direction from wanting closer ties with the European Union to wanting closer ties with Russia. The Euromaiden protests followed, and led the parliament to remove him from office. Volodymyr Zelensky would be elected in 2019, strongly in favor of EU integration. On February 28, 2022, Ukraine submitted its bid for membership.
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