Development of independent Ukraine (1994-

2009).Plan

1. Presidency of Leonid Kuchma and the problems of socio-economic development of Ukraine.2. “Orange revolution” and its consequences. 3. Presidency of Viktor Yushchenko. Domestic and foreign policy of Ukraine.

Presidency of Leonid Kuchma and the problems of socio-economic development of

Ukraine.Leonid Kuchma:

was elected as a president in 1994 and 1999

was criticized for: concentrating too much of power in his

office corruption

transferring public property into hands of loyal oligarchs

discouraging free speech killing in 2000 of journalist Georgiy

Gongadze signed a "Treaty of Friendship,

Cooperation, and Partnership" with Russia

referred to Russian as "an official language“

signed a special partnership agreement with NATO and even raised the possibility of membership of the alliance

Leonid Kravchuk

Leonid Kuchma

Georgiy Gongadze

The Constitution of Ukraine was adopted on June 28, 1996

the hryvnia was introduced in 1996 Viktor Yushchenko was appointed as a

prime minister Yushchenko became an opposition leader

after his dismissal as prime minister in 2001

Kuchma's Prime Minister from 2002 until early January 2005 was Viktor Yanukovych

“Orange revolution” and its consequences.

The Orange Revolution: was a series of protests and political

events took place from late November 2004 to

January 2005 resulted from the run-off vote of the 2004

Ukrainian presidential election which was claimed to be corrupted

was highlighted by a series of acts of civil disobedience, sit-ins, and general strikes

succeeded when the results of the original run-off were annulled, and a revote was ordered

ended with the inauguration of Yushchenko on January 23, 2005 in Kiev

Official results of the November 21 vote for each territory.

Change in claimed turnout between the 1st and 2nd rounds of the election according to the Central Election Commission.

Results of the December 26, 2004 repeated run-off presidential election. Orange denotes provinces where Yushchenko won the popular vote. Blue represents provinces where Yanukovych led in the popular vote.

Viktor Yanukovych

Viktor Yushchenko

Protesters at Independence Square on the first day of the Orange Revolution.

Blue-clad miners rally in support of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych in Kiev.

An orange ribbon, a symbol of the Ukrainian Orange Revolution. Ribbons are common symbols of non-violent protest.

Presidency of Viktor Yushchenko. Domestic and foreign policy of

Ukraine. On September 8, 2005, Yushchenko

fired his government led by Yulia Tymoshenko

In August 2006, Yushchenko appointed Viktor Yanukovych, to be the new Prime Minister

On April 2, 2007, Yushchenko signed an order to dissolve the parliament

Ukraine's stated national policy is Euro-Atlantic integration, including with both NATO and the European Union (EU).

Yulia Tymoshenko

a Ukrainian politician and current Prime Minister of Ukraine.

one of the key leaders of the Orange Revolution.

a successful but controversial businesswoman in the gas industry

a candidate in the presidential elections in 2010

Government and politics Ukraine is a republic under a mixed

semi-parliamentary semi-presidential system with separate legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

The President is elected by popular vote for a five-year term and is the formal head of state.

Ukraine's legislative branch includes the 450-seat unicameral parliament, the Verkhovna Rada.

The parliament is primarily responsible for the formation of the executive branch and the Cabinet of Ministers, which is headed by the Prime Minister.

The Supreme Court is the main body in the system of courts of general jurisdiction.

The European Union offered an Association Agreement with Ukraine in September, 2008. The country is a potential candidate for future enlargement of the European Union.

Verkhovna Rada, the Parliament of Ukraine

Mykola Azarov

Administrative divisions Ukraine is subdivided into twenty-four

oblasts (provinces) and one autonomous republic, Crimea.

The 24 oblasts and Crimea are subdivided into 490 raions (districts), or second-level administrative units.

In total, Ukraine has 457 cities, 176 of them are labeled oblast-class, 279 smaller raion-class cities, and two special legal status cities. These are followed by 886 urban-type settlements and 28,552 villages.

Geography At 603,700 kilometres² (233,074 sq mi)

and with a coastline of 2,782 kilometres (1,729 mi), Ukraine is the world's 44th-largest country (after the Central African Republic, before Madagascar).

It is the second largest country in Europe (after the European part of Russia, before metropolitan France).

The Ukrainian landscape consists mostly of fertile plains (or steppes) and plateaus, crossed by rivers such as the Dnieper (Dnipro), Seversky Donets, Dniester and the Southern Buh as they flow south into the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov.

The country's only mountains are the Carpathian Mountains in the west, of which the highest is the Hora Hoverla at 2,061 m (6,762 ft), and those on the Crimean peninsula, in the extreme south along the coast.

View of Yalta from the coast of the Black Sea.

Azov sea coast near Kerch.

The Dnieper River seen atop a hill in Kiev, Ukraine.

The Ai-Petri 1200 m above mean sea level

Hora Hoverla

Economy With the collapse of the Soviet system, the

country moved from a planned economy to a market economy.

Ukraine produces nearly all types of transportation vehicles and spacecraft.

The country imports most energy supplies, especially oil and natural gas, and to a large extent depends on Russia as its energy supplier.

The World Bank classifies Ukraine as a middle-income state.[

Significant issues include underdeveloped infrastructure and transportation, corruption and bureaucracy.

Ukraine produces nearly all types of transportation vehicles and spacecraft.

Ukraine is recognised as a world leader in producing missiles and missile related technology.

Ukrainian oblasts (provinces) by monthly salary

Culture Ukrainian customs are heavily

influenced by Christianity, which is the dominant religion in the country.

The tradition of the Easter egg, known as pysanky, has long roots in Ukraine.

In the city of Kolomya near the foothills of the Carpathian mountains in 2000 was built the museum of Pysanka which won a nomination as the monument of modern Ukraine in 2007, part of the Seven Wonders of Ukraine action.

Popular traditional dishes include varenyky (boiled dumplings with mushrooms, potatoes, sauerkraut, cottage cheese or cherries), borsch (soup made of beets, cabbage and mushrooms or meat) and holubtsy (stuffed cabbage rolls filled with rice, carrots and meat).

A collection of traditional pysanky from Volyn

The Pysanka Museum, Kolomiya, Ukraine

1. Sofiyivsky Park in Uman, Cherkasy Oblast

It was founded in 1796 by Count Stanisław Szczęsny Potocki, a noble Polish szlahtich. The park is named after his Greek wife Sofia and was built in 1802. It's one of the world famous garden-park art creations. There are many scenic areas in the park including waterfalls, fountains, ponds and a stone garden. It is one of the most famous examples of late 17th or early 18th century European landscape garden design that has been preserved to the present time.

2. Kiev Pechersk Lavra (Monastery of the Caves) in Kiev

Since its foundation as the cave monastery in 1015 the Lavra has been a prominent center of the Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Eastern Europe. Together with the Saint-Sophia Cathedral, it is inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.Currently, the jurisdiction over the site is divided between the state museum, National Kyiv-Pechersk Historic-Cultural Preserve, and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as the site of the chief monastery of that Church and the residence of its leader, Metropolitan Volodymyr.

3. Kamianets-Podilskyi Historical Complex inKamianets-Podilskyi, Khmelnytskyi Oblast

An old street in Kamianets-Podilskyi's old town quarter.

The Stephen Báthory Gate is part of the city's old fortification complex.

Nowadays, Khortysia is designated a national museum. The rural landscape of the island features the Zaporizhian Cossack Museum and a Cossack horse show. The museum building is modern, nestling low in the landscape with dramatic views of the Dnieper Hydroelectric Station to the north.The museum contains exhibits dating from the Stone Age through the Scythian period (c.750 - 250 BC) down to the 20th century, including a model of the Pecheneg ambush which claimed the life of Svyatoslav in 972 and a panorama representing the Battle for Zaporizhia, fought during World War II on October 14, 1943.

Chersonesos was an ancient Greek colony founded approximately 2500 years ago in the southwestern part of Crimea, known then as Taurica. The colony was established in the 6th century BC. Chersonesos' ancient ruins are presently located in one of Sevastopol's suburbs. The buildings mix influences of Greek, Roman and Byzantine culture. The defensive wall is hundreds of meters long. Buildings include Roman amphitheatre and a Greek temple.

7. Khotyn Fortress[11] in Khotyn, Chernivtsi Oblast

The Khotyn Fortress is a fortification complex located on the shores of the Dniester River in Khotyn, Chernivtsi Oblast of western Ukraine. Construction on the current fortress was started in 1325, while major improvements were made in the 1380s and in the 1460s.The fortress is a large tourist attraction for the area and Ukraine. It is also a National Ukrainian Architectural Preserve as of 2000.

Language According to the Constitution, the state language of

Ukraine is Ukrainian. According to the 2001 census, 67.5 percent of the

population declared Ukrainian as their native language and 29.6 percent declared Russian.

Most native Ukrainian speakers know Russian as a second language.

Ukrainian is mainly spoken in western and central Ukraine.

In central Ukraine, Ukrainian and Russian are both equally used

In eastern and southern Ukraine, Russian is primarily used in cities, and surzhyk is used in rural areas.

Percentage of native Ukrainian speakers by subdivision

Demographics According to the

Ukrainian Census of 2001, ethnic Ukrainians make up 77.8% of the population.

Other significant ethnic groups are Russians (17.3%), Belarusians (0.6%), Moldovans (0.5%), Crimean Tatars (0.5%), Bulgarians (0.4%), Hungarians (0.3%), Romanians (0.3%), Poles (0.3%), Jews (0.2%), Armenians (0.2%), Greeks (0.2%) and Tatars (0.2%).

The industrial regions in the east and southeast are the most heavily populated, and about 67.2 percent of the population lives in urban areas.

Ukraine is considered to be in a demographic crisis due to its high death rate and a low birth rate.

A factor contributing to the relatively high death is a high mortality rate among working-age males from preventable causes such as alcohol poisoning and smoking.

To help mitigate these trends, the government continues to increase child support payments. Thus it provides one-time payments of 12,250 hryvnias for the first child, 25,000 hryvnias for the second and 50,000 hryvnias for the third and fourth, along with monthly payments of 154 hryvnias per child.

Population of Ukraine in millions) from 1950-009.

Andriy Shevchenko, Ukrainian football player

The new Donbass Arena

Volodymyr Klychko and Vitaliy Klychko

Religion The dominant religion in Ukraine is Eastern

Orthodox Christianity A distant second by the number of the

followers is the Eastern Rite Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

Additionally, there are 863 Roman Catholic Protestant Christians also form around

2.19 percent of the population. Other groups include Calvinists, Lutherans,

Methodists and Seventh-day Adventists. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church) is also present.

The ruins of an ancient Greek theatre. Chersonesus, Sevastopol.

Ruins of Panticapaeum. 6th century BC (Kerch)