Ukraine
Ukraine (Ukrainian: Óêðà¿íà, Ukraina, /ukra?jina/) is a country in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north-east, Belarus to the north, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary to the west, Romania and Moldova to the south-west, and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south. The historic city of Kiev (Kyiv) is the country's capital.
From at least the ninth century, the territory of present-day Ukraine was a centre of medieval East Slavic civilization forming the state of Kievan Rus, and for the following several centuries the territory was divided between a number of regional powers. After a brief period of independence (1917–1921) following the Russian Revolution of 1917, Ukraine became one of the founding Soviet Republics in 1922. The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic's territory was enlarged westward after the Second World War, and again in 1954 with the Crimea transfer. In 1945 Ukrainian SSR became one of the co-founder members of the United Nations. It became independent again after the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991.
Flag of Ukraine and Coat of arms of Ukraine
Etymology of the name
According to one theory, the Ukrainian word Ukrayina stems from the Old Slavic root kraj-, meaning ‘land’, ‘region’, ‘country’, but also ‘edge’ or ‘borderland’ (see below). In particular, in Ukrainian krayina means simply ‘country’. Opinions vary as to the immediate derivation, but the first known mentioning in the Kyiv Chronicle of 1187 probably uses the word in the meaning of ‘region’, ‘principality’, which might be defined as ‘land cut out for a Prince’ (maybe referring to the general feudal practice of a prince dividing land between his sons). Over time, as the dominant self-identification paradigms were changing, the word's initial meaning ‘the land of the prince’ may have transformed to a wider meaning.
In English, the country is sometimes referred to with the definite article, the Ukraine, as in the Netherlands, the Gambia, the Sudan or the Congo. However, usage without the article has become more frequent in journalism and diplomacy since the country's independence.
| Capital (and largest city) | Kiev (Kyiv) 50°27'N 30°30'E |
| Official languages | Ukrainian |
| Government | Parliamentary democracy |
| - President | Viktor Yushchenko |
| - Prime Minister | Viktor Yanukovych |
| Independence | from the Soviet Union |
| - Declared | August 24, 1991 |
| - Referendum | December 1, 1991 |
| - Finalized | December 25, 1991 |
| Area - Total | 603,700 sq km (44th) 233,090 sq mi |
| - Water (%) | 7% |
| Population - 2005 estimate | 46,481,000 |
| - 2001 census | 48,457,102 |
| - Density | 77/sq km 199/sq mi |
| GDP (PPP) | 2007 estimate |
| - Total | $390.306 billion |
| - Per capita | $8,404 |
| HDI (2004) | 0.774 (medium) |
| Currency | Hryvnia (UAH) |
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) |
| - Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) |
| Internet TLD | .ua |
| Calling code | +380 |
