3.13.Ukraine
The land within the borders of modern Ukraine, a Texas-sized nation often called the “breadbasket of Europe,” has long been coveted by the region’s powers. During Antiquity, the Greeks, Romans and Huns, along with a slew of lesser-known empires, from the Scythians to the Sarmatians, each established a presence there at one point or another.
More recently, from the Middle Ages to the present, the Vikings, Mongols, Lithuanians, Poles, Russians, Ottomans, Swedes, French, Austrians, Germans, Romanians and Czechoslovakians have all marched in, with some staying far longer than others.
Never fully independent until the collapse of the Soviet Union, though there were periods of semi-autonomy, Ukraine has been divided up and stuck back together several times. (Fittingly, the name “Ukraine” means “on the edge” or “borderland,” and its national anthem declares, “Ukraine has not yet perished.”) Through it all, Ukrainian history and identity has been a highly contentious topic, particularly in the context of the 2022 Russian invasion.
1917: Ukraine Council Proclaims Right to ‘Order Their Own Lives’ - When the Russian Revolution breaks out, Ukraine’s newly formed Central Rada, a council of elected delegates, proclaims Ukraine to be a state within Russia, whose people should “have the right to order their own lives in their own land.”
1918: Short-Lived Independence - As Bolshevik forces close in, the Central Rada declares full independence for Ukraine. “The genie of independence was now out of the imperial bottle,” Plokhy writes. Ukraine then signs a peace treaty with the Central Powers in which it agrees to German and Austrian military intervention. As the Ukrainian government hoped, the Germans and Austrians succeed in driving back the Bolsheviks—at least until the signing of the World War I armistice compels their exit.
But they also meddle in Ukrainian affairs, overthrowing the Central Rada ("Council")and installing a pro-German puppet leader. That same year, a second, short-lived independence attempt failed in western Ukraine, this one quashed by newly re-formed Poland.
1919: Ukraine Divided Into Four Parts - In the aftermath of World War I, present-day Ukraine gets split into four parts. Russia retains by far the biggest share, while smaller bits are handed out to Poland, Romania and Czechoslovakia.
1945: 1 Million Ukrainian Jews Lost in WWII - World War II finally comes to a close. All told, Ukraine suffers an estimated 5 million to 7 million deaths, or roughly 16 percent of its pre-war population, including around 1 million Ukrainian Jews.
1954: Khrushchev Transferred Crimea to Ukraine - The Soviet government under Nikita Krushchevtransferred Crimea from Russia to Ukraine in a gesture of “eternal friendship,” a move that received little attention at the time since it remained within the borders of the Soviet Union.
1986: Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster - A safety test goes awry at the Chernobyl nuclear power station in Ukraine, leading to a deadly reactor meltdown that the Soviet authorities initially try to cover up. The disaster, considered history’s worst nuclear accident, is often blamed for hastening the Soviet Union’s demise.
1991: Ukraine Declares Independence - With the Soviet Union in its death throes, Ukraine’s parliament declares independence, a decision that’s overwhelmingly approved by Ukrainian voters in a national referendum. Ukraine is now fully independent for the first time.
1994: Ukraine Gives Up Nuclear Weapons - Negotiations between the United States, Russia and Ukraine result in a deal under which Ukraine gives up its inherited nuclear weapons in exchange for, among other things, a Russian vow to respect “existing borders.” Thereafter, Ukraine becomes a major recipient of U.S. foreign aid.
2004: The Orange Revolution - Disgusted with an election widely viewed as fraudulent, Ukrainian protesters rally in Kiev’s Independence Square in what’s known as the Orange Revolution. A re-run vote subsequently reverses the results, with pro-Western candidate Viktor Yushchenko, who survived a near-fatal poisoning attempt during the campaign, defeating pro-Russian candidate Viktor Yanukovych. In 2010, after Yushchenko struggled with infighting, Yanukovych mounted a comeback and won the presidency.
2014: Protestors Oust Russia-Backed President - Government-backed forces open fire on protestors who have once again flocked to Kiev’s Independence Square, this time in support of closer ties to the European Union. Though over 100 people die in the melee, they succeed in forcing out the notoriously corruptYanukovych, who flees to Russia.
2014: Russian Annexes Crimea - Putin responds by immediately occupying and annexing Crimea. He also promotes a separatist revolt in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, a conflict that would claim some 14,000 lives over the next several years. “One of the key issues is that Ukraine has chosen Europe instead of Russia,” Herrera says. “And for Putin that’s unacceptable.
2019: Zelensky Elected President - VolodymyrZelensky, a former comedian who once played Ukraine’s president on television, wins a landslide election to become Ukraine’s actual president. Just a couple of months into the job, he takes a phone call from U.S. President Donald Trump that serves as the basis for Trump’s first impeachment (Trump was later acquitted by the Senate).
2022: Russia Invades Ukraine - Russia launches a full-scale invasion of Ukraine but meets heavier resistance than expected. The invasion, says Herrera, “comes back to Russia wanting to assert control over Ukraine and thinking they could get away with it."
