Ukraine. Birth of a Modern Nation

World War II began on September 1, 1939 with Germany’s invasion of Poland a week after the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Officially known as a treaty of non-aggression between the Soviet Union and Germany but secretly containing a protocol in which several European countries were divided into “spheres of influence” between the two powers.

World War II was originally called The European War, and it was not until December of 1941, when the United States of America joined the war, that it became known as World War II. The European War started when Germany invaded Poland in September of 1939, and France and England responded by declaring war on Germany. The Soviets then invaded Finland,

Ukraine is granted a market economy status by the EU and USA. The sharp economic decline in the 90s resulted in deteriorating living standards for most citizens and widespread poverty. However, during the 21st century, there has been some positive economic growth in Ukraine, as well as Eastern Europe as a whole. Ukraine’s currency, the Hryvnia, was introduced in September 1996 and has remained relatively stable. The unstable political situation in Ukraine hardly influences its economic development. GDP has been growing steadily since 2005 at an average growth rate of 7% and industrial production has been expanding by 12%. The Ukrainian economy was hit by the harsh effects of the global financial crisis but managed to attain a 4.2%

Auty, Robert, and Dimitri Obolensky. 1976. "An Introduction to Russian History (Companion to Russian Studies;1)." Brisol, Great Britain : Cambridge University Press Ltd.

Soviet Ukraine was a terrible place to be in the late 1900s for Jewish people. There was strong anti-semitism during this time in the waning days of the Cold War. The Cold War was a state of political hostility between countries that was characterized mainly by threats and propaganda. Lev Golinkin wrote on his experiences about being a Jew living in Ukraine in his memoir, A Backpack, a Bear, and Eight Crates of Vodka. Golinkin possesses an interesting writing style that includes a terribly harsh tone of fear, yet he also incorporates humor that forces the reader to connect with him. Golinkin utilized tone superbly to allow the reader to better understand the topics of his memoir.

World War II officially began on September 1, 1939 with the German invasion of Poland. With the leading of Hitler and the Nazi party, troops of more than 2,000 German tanks and 1,000 planes were sent into Poland from the North, while Silesia and Slovakia came in from the South with Prussia in the East to take down Polish defences. Two days later, on September 3, both Britain and France had declared war on Germany. The Soviet Union invaded Eastern Poland September 17, and by September 27, Poland had surrendered. This was

Ilya Kaminsky was born 1977 in Odessa, Ukraine of the former Soviet Union in a time of political unrest (Poetry Foundation). Ukraine has had a history of political unrest under the Soviet Union, and with Kaminsky being of Jewish descent, he would have been under immense fear. Ukraine’s Jewish population lost most of its 1.5 million population to Nazi Germany in World War II. While the effects of the war lessened tremendously after the war, the history must haunt the community. In the late 1900s, Ukraine sought independence from the Soviet Union, which was achieved in 1991 along with the fall of the Soviet Union. However, independence did not come without a cost to the Ukrainians. In 1972, only five years before Kaminsky was born, a repression effort of refuseniks was launched by the Soviet Union (“Ukraine Profile - Timeline”).

The two countries, Russia and Ukraine, had different reactions towards the armed violence and impeachment of the Ukrainian president. Although the majority of the Ukrainians opposed Viktor’s decision to procrastinate the signing the EU-Ukraine integration agreement, all the ex-presidents accused for its interference with the affairs of Crimean. The former presidents of Ukraine, including Leonid Kravchuk and Leonid Kuchma described the present crisis as Russia’s political interventions designed to interfere with the internal affairs of Ukraine and its relationship with the European Union (Hanschke 1). The people of Crimea have not been seeking for secession from Ukraine, but their interest is to have extended autonomy and rights to govern the Crimean affairs with minimum involvement of the government of Ukraine. Russia, on the other hand, have dismissed the accusation and stated that it is pursuing the interest of the people of Crimea to join the Federation of Russia. Russia holds that the people of Crimea have the power to decide the future of their territory and Russia will be ready to respect their decision. Study shows that about 90

1). The Caucasus is a complex region and because of its complexity many people do not bother spending the time to learn about it. Before reading this book, I did not know much about the region other than the names of the countries that were in this area. We learn world history in schools but the Caucasus is never a part of it and it makes me wonder why it isn’t. I have taken european and asian history but neither of these included a chapter or even a page on the Caucasus.

This passage clearly exemplified the mindset of many, as the hope they had had for a more optimistic future was once again crushed under another regime. This was continuously a problem under occupations of Kiev, government power made promises that were no longer able to withhold and as a result of this, the would then be forced to endure horrible acts played out against them and face poor treatment.

Ukraine is a large and pivotal state, occupying an important and sensitive location between the Russian Federation and the eastern European states. The country borders several members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), such as Poland and Romania. Up until 1991, Ukraine was a member of the Soviet Union. Their independence has long been the source of conflict and dispute in the region, and has led to violent armed conflict in recent years. The country has a rich history and unique culture which deserve detailed analysis. In this paper, I will explore the geography, society, government, economy, infrastructure, military, and transnational issues of Ukraine.

We all have a lot in common, because we are humans, but, at the same time, we are all completely different, because there is no one person who is completely the same as the other one. Even twins are different, when, at first glance, we can see them 100% identical. It is strange, but it is completely true, that people may be against someone that looks different or acts different, most of us don’t like to see very unusual things because we are not used to them. Each region is different and it is very important to realize, that racism was, and is going to be everywhere. In African, Arabic and Hispanic countries, people who are white are different, while in Europe and the United States, they are nothing but normal. Sometimes we are not

The educational challenges endured by the Ukrainian government and its citizens is a suitable option for the final comparison paper against Finland. Ukraine shares a longstanding history with Russia having only attained independence in 1991, and aimed to cultivate a relationship with Western Europe, particularly the European Union (EU). Discouragingly, twenty six years after independence Ukraine wrestles with a depleted economy inherited from former and first President Leonid Kravchuk. Leonid Kuchma, the country’s second president, only fared slightly better than his predecessor but soon faltered. Kuchma was accused by the opposition of immoderately conceding to Russian economic interests. What’s more, Kuchma’s

At the outset, I would like to apologise profusely for the somewhat unstructured presentation. In my talk, I would like to address the issue of changing Ukraine through education, but I acknowledge being biased and have to warn you that I am no expert on the Ukrainian higher education.

Last year, in an interview with National State Television and Radio Company (VGTRK) journalist Vladimir Solovyov, Vladimir Putin said “Crimea has always been and remains Russian, as well as Ukrainian, Crimean-Tatar, Greek (after all, there are Greeks living there) and German - and it will be home to all of those peoples. As for state affiliation, the people living in Crimea made their choice; it should be treated with respect, and Russia cannot do otherwise.” Since 2014, Russia and Ukraine have battled over the territory of Crimea, an area in eastern Ukraine stocked with large amounts of gas and oil. Despite Crimea being in Ukrainian territory, Russia has invaded the region and claimed it as their own. Although, this conflict in Crimea may be rather new, Ukraine and Russia share a deep and complex history. In order to study the crisis occurring in Crimea, it is important to look at not only the problem at hand but also the history, motives, perspectives, and solutions. Furthermore, the issue cannot be put into context without information on international relations as a whole, background information about each country, and the role of NATO.