Ukraine is a country located in Eastern Europe that borders Russia and the Black Sea. It has a population of over 44 million people and its capital and largest city is Kyiv. Ukraine has a long and complex history involving control by various powers like Russia and Poland. In recent years, Ukraine has experienced conflict and civil unrest in its eastern regions as it seeks closer ties with the European Union and NATO over Russia.

1. UKRAINE
KNOW YOUR COMMUNITY-KNOW YOUR WORLD

2. Ukraine is located in Eastern Europe. It is slightly smaller than Texas
in area, making it the second largest country in Europe. The terrain
is mostly fertile plains and plateaus with some mountains in the
west and extreme south. It borders the Black Sea to the south.

3. Country Quick Facts
 Full name: Ukraine
 Population: 44.4 million (July 2015)
 Capital: Kyiv
 Largest city: Kyiv
 Official language: Ukrainian
 Major religion: Orthodox Christianity
 Life expectancy: male-67, female-77
 Monetary unit: Ukrainian hryvnia
 Main exports: metals, fuel & petroleum products, chemicals,
machinery, foodstuffs
 GNI per capita: $8,970 (2013)

4. Ukrainian History in Brief
 Many different nomadic groups settled in Ukraine’s current
territory during the first millennium BC
 Around 600 BC had colonies along the Black Sea and the
Slavic tribes occupied much of central and eastern Ukraine
 Near the end of the 10th century Vladimir the Great
converted most of the population to Christianity
 Kievan Rus was an influential medieval city state, but
disintegrated after the Mongol invasion in the 13th century
 In the 14th century Ukraine became part of the Kingdom of
Poland
 In the 1700s the Kingdom of Poland was divided among 3
major powers and the Russian Empire got most of Ukraine,
while the Austrio-Hungarian Empire got some of west Ukraine

5. History continued
 After WWI Ukraine declared independent statehood, but they
couldn't’t protect themselves so Poland took over the far west and the
east became part of the Soviet Union as the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist
Republic
 In WWII Poland lost its part of Ukraine to the USSR
 Shortly after Nazi Germany invaded Russia and gained control of parts
of Ukraine for about 3 years and Ukraine suffered greatly during this
time with many executions and other crimes against humanity
 After WWII Ukraine remained part of the USSR and industries grew
rapidly
 In 1991 Ukraine declared itself an independent state after the breakup
of the Soviet Union and began positive moves towards democracy
 February 2014 fighting breaks out during protests (see slide 10)

6. Germany soldiers holding a Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic flag

7. Language
 HELLO: Вітаю /Vitayu
 GOODBYE: До побачення/Do pobačennja
 YES: Так /Tak
 NO: Ні /Ni
 THANK YOU: Дякую /Diakuju
 YOU’RE WELCOME: Прошу будь ласка /Prošu, buď laska
 PLEASE: Будь ласка /Budʹ laska
 I LOVE YOU: Я тебе кохаю /Ja tebe kochaju
 HOW ARE YOU: Як ви поживаєте /Jak vy požyvajete

8. Government
 President- Petro Poroshenko
 Prime minister- Arseniy
Yatsenyuk
 Republic
 Voting age- 18 years old
Poroshenko (above),
Yatsenyuk (left)

9. Ukraine Crisis
 https://youtu.be/vdxG-fLv0vI WARNING: semi-graphic
images in this video
 Since this video, from September 2014, two peace
agreements, Minsk I and Minsk II, have been attempted
but were not implemented
 Fighting has continued since and sanctions on Russia
continue to be extended by the US and the European
Union
 In April, US troops started training Ukrainian infantry
 Human right violations continue and just from mid-April
2015-June 2015 almost 6,500 were killed in the fighting,
many of them civilians

10. Current Issues
 High levels of human trafficking
 High poverty and mass starvation in some areas
 Displaced people and refugees from the conflict
 Economic troubles
 Children out of school because of the conflict
 Water and air pollution

11. Economy
 Ukraine’s economy continues to suffer due to the
conflict going on their
 One of the remaining questions is west or east; will
Ukraine align with the west (EU & NATO) or east
(Russia)?
 In March 2014 Ukraine received an assistance
package from International Monetary Fund for $14-18
billion to help their economy
 Industries: coal, electric power, metals, machinery and
trasport equipment, chemicals, food processing

12. Currency
 Ukrainian hryvnia
 1 US Dollar= 21.22 Ukrainian hryvnia (July 2015)

13. Traditional Ukrainian Dress

14. Traditional Ukrainian Dance
 https://www.youtube.co
m/watch?v=VByNuaE_C
T0
 https://www.youtube.co
m/watch?v=VHddMpZ_
dCo

15. Traditional Ukrainian Food
 Borshch- beet root soup with lots of vegetables
 Varenyky- dumplings filled with mashed potatoes,
onions, cabbage and many other things
 Banosh with brynza- corn flour cooked in sour cream
then cheese, mushrooms, and pork added
 Uzvar- dried fruit drink
 Paska- sweet egg bread, served especially at Easter
time

16. Borshch
Paska
(Above) Varenyky, (right) uzvar

17. Fun Facts
 The famous Tunnel of Love is located in Ukraine
 Ukrainians rarely smile in publics, but they are still very
friendly people!
 The third most visited McDonald’s in the world is located in
Kyiv
 Arsenalnaya Metro Station located in Kiev is the deepest in
the world (105 meters)
 The famous Christmas song, Carol of the Bells, was written
by a Ukrainian composer
 Ukrainians wear their wedding ring on their right hand
 Kyiv has the shortest city main street in the world at only 1.2
km

18. (Top left) the third most
visited McDonald’s in
the world in Kyiv,
Ukraine, (above)
Arsenalnaya Metro
Station is the deepest in
the world, (right) the
shortest city main street
in the world in Kyiv

19. (Above) Tunnel of Love,
(right) a Ukrainian couple
wearing the wedding rings
on their right hands

20. Links
 https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-
world-factbook/geos/up.html
 http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/
europe/ua.htm