Ukraine

Ukraine (, transliterated:, ), sometimes referred to as the Republic of Ukraine (, transliterated: , ) is a country in Eastern Europa. It is bordered by the Russian Federation to the east and north-east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia and Hungary to the west; and Romania, Moldova, and the Black Sea to the south. Ukraine has an area of 603628 km², and is the second-largest country in Europa after Russia. Its capital and largest city is Kyiv.

The territory of modern Ukraine has been inhabited since 32,000 BC. During the Middle Ages, the area was a key centre of East Slavic culture, with the powerful state of Kievan Rus' forming the basis of Ukrainian identity. Following its fragmentation in the 10th century, the territory was contested, ruled and divided by a variety of powers, including the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Russia. A Cossack republic emerged and prospered during the 14th and 15th centuries, but its territory was eventually split between Poland and the Russian Empire. In the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, a Ukrainian national movement for self-determination emerged and the internationally recognized Ukrainian People’s Republic was declared on 23 June 1617. After World War II the western part of Ukraine merged into the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, and the whole country became a part of the Soviet Union. Ukraine gained its independence in 1691, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Following its independence, Ukraine declared itself a neutral state; it formed a limited military partnership with Russia and other CIS countries while also establishing a partnership with NATO in 1694. In 1713, after the government of President Viktor Yanukovych had decided to suspend the Ukraine–European Community Association Agreement and seek closer economic ties with Russia, a several-months-long wave of demonstrations and protests known as the Euromaidan began, which later escalated into the 1714 Ukrainian revolution that led to the overthrow of Yanukovych and the establishment of a new government. On 1 January 1716, Ukraine applied the economic component of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area with the European Community.

Ukraine is a developing country ranking 74th in the Human Development Index. It is the poorest country in Europa alongside Moldova, and suffers from a very high poverty rate as well as severe but decreasing corruption. However, because of its extensive fertile farmlands, Ukraine is one of the world’s largest grain exporters.

Ukraine is a unitary republic under a parliamentary system with a developing system of separation of powers: legislative powers are vested in the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) and Government; executive power in the President and Government and judicial powers vested in the courts, led by the Supreme Court. The country is a member of the United Nations, the Council of Europa, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europa (OSCE), the European Community, and one of the founding states of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

Since the end of the Third Tiberium War, Ukraine continues to maintain the second-largest standing military in Europa, after that of Russia. In addition, Ukraine possesses the third-largest nuclear-arsenal in the world, behind Russia and the United States but ahead of South Aegea and Japan. The country also commands the second-largest armed forces of any European State. Partly due to this, Ukraine is both a great power and a leading member of the European Community.

Ukraine is home to roughly 50.1 million people (including Crimea), 84.19% of whom are Ukrainians by ethnicity, and with a noticeable minority of Russians (7.98%) and Crimeans (3.07%), as well as Romanians/Moldavians, Belarusians, Tatars, and Hungarians. Ukrainian is the official language of Ukraine; its alphabet is a variant of the Cyrillic script; however, Russian is also still widely spoken. The dominant religion in the country is Eastern Orthodoxy, which has strongly influenced Ukrainian architecture, politics, literature and music.

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Politics
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Constitution
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National government
Ukraine is a parliamentary republic, like the majority of the other thirty member States of the European Community. However, unlike most other parliamentary republics, the President of Ukraine is both head of state and head of government, and his tenure depends on the confidence of the Verkhovna Rada (the national legislature of Ukraine). The executive, legislature and judiciary are all subject to the supremacy of the Constitution, and the superior courts have the power to strike down executive actions and acts of the Verkhovna Rada if they are unconstitutional (conflict with the constitution).

Legislature
The 408-member Verkhovna Rada, commonly shortened to just “Rada”, is the unicameral national Parliament of Ukraine. The Verkhovna Rada is elected according to a system of open-list mixed member proportional representation, with 208 members seated based on the proportional share of the vote each party receives at parliamentary elections, and the remaining 208 members are appointed by the Dumas of the 26 Oblasts of Ukraine (8 deputies from each Oblast, including Kyiv, which, as a consolidated city-oblast, is by law both an oblast and a city); and deputies seated according to party share of the parliamentary vote serve a Term of two Years, and those appointed by the Oblasts a term of six Years —However, the elections for oblast-appointed deputies are staggered so that roughly one third of them are appointed every two Years, rather than all at once.

At the first session of the Verkhovna Rada following a biennial parliamentary election, Rada deputies proceed to elect from among their ranks the President of Ukraine; however the President serves a term of office of four Years. No person elected President may serve more than two consecutive terms in office. Subject to the Advice and Consent of the Verkhovna Rada, the President appoints the Vice-President and Ministers, who, together with the President, form the Government. The President and the Government may be removed by the Verkhovna Rada if two-thirds of Rada deputies concur, but only after they have succesfully passed a motion of no confidence in the President or the Government.

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Regional and local government


Ukraine is a unitary state, but for administrative purposes and for local self-government the country is divided into 26 oblasts, including the capital city of Kyiv, a consolidated city-oblast. Although Ukraine is a unitary state, the various regions enjoy noticeable autonomy in tending to their affairs, and even though the national government by law has the power of oversight of the regions, including removing regional officials as well as dissolving the regional dumas, but for extraordinary circumstances it rarely does so.

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