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• Ukraine history - The beginning
• Ukraine history - Russian Empire
• Ukraine history - Soviet Union
• Ukraine history - independent Ukraine

After the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev introduced the reforms of glasnost and perestroika into national policy in the late 1980s, Ukrainian nationalist feelings gradually awoke, leading the newly democratized Ukrainian parliament to declare the Ukraine's sovereignty in 1990.

Ukraine history - Ukraine independence symbol

In the wake of the hardline Communists failed coup against Gorbachev, the Ukrainian parliament declared Ukraine's independence (August 1991), an act that was approved by the Ukrainian populace in a referendum in December. As the Soviet Union collapsed that month, Ukrainian independence gained international recognition.

Ukraine history - independent Ukraine has respect to religion

Leonid Kravchuk was elected first president of Ukraine in December 1991. He garnered 62% of the vote as compared with his nearest challenger, Vyacheslav Chornovil, a former dissident, who gained 23%.

Ukraine history - Ukraine Independence Day celebrations

Ukraine joined the Commonwealth of Independent States in December 1991 but saw this loose organization as a transitory mechanism to resolve disputes. Economic, military, territorial, and political disputes have caused tensions between Ukraine and Russia.

Ukraine history - independent Ukraine national flag