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Portal:Ukraine
Welcome to the Ukraine Portal
Ukraine [juˈkreɪn] (help ·info ) (Ukrainian : Україна , Ukrayina , /ukrɑˈjinɑ/ ) is a country in Eastern Europe . It borders Russia to the east, Belarus to the north, Poland , Slovakia and Hungary to the west, Romania and Moldova to the southwest, and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south. The city of Kiev (Kyiv ) is both the capital and the largest city of Ukraine.
From at least the ninth century , the territory of present-day Ukraine was a centre of medieval East Slavic civilization that formed the state that became known as 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 finally in 1954 with the Crimea transfer . Ukraine became independent again after the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991.
Ukraine is a unitary state composed of 24 oblasts (provinces), one autonomous republic (Crimea ), and two cities with special status: Kiev , its capital, and Sevastopol , which houses the Russian Black Sea Fleet under a leasing agreement. Ukraine is a republic under a semi-presidential system with separate legislative , executive , and judicial branches. Since the collapse of the USSR, Ukraine continues to maintain the second largest military in Europe, after that of Russia. The country is home to 46.4 million people, 77.8 percent of whom are ethnic Ukrainians , with sizable minorities of Russians, Belarusians and Romanians. The Ukrainian language is the only official language in Ukraine, while Russian is also widely spoken and is known to most Ukrainians as a second language. The dominant religion in the country in Eastern Orthodox Christianity , which has heavily influenced Ukrainian architecture , literature and music .
The Caspian expeditions of the Rus the Rus between 864 and 1041 on the Caspian Sea shores. Initially, the Rus appeared in Saerkland in the 9th century traveling as merchants along the Volga trade route , selling furs, honey, and slaves. The first small-scale raids took place in the late 9th and early 10th century. The Rus undertook the first large-scale expedition in 913; having arrived on 500 ships, they pillaged Gorgan , the territory of present day Azerbaijan , and the adjacent areas, taking slaves and goods. On their return, the northern raiders were attacked and defeated by Khazar Muslims in the Volga Delta , and those who escaped were killed by the local tribes on the middle Volga .
During their next expedition in 943, the Rus captured Barda , the capital of Arran , in the modern-day Azerbaijan . The Rus stayed there for several months, killing many inhabitants of the city and amassing substantial plunder. It was only an outbreak of dysentery among the Rus that forced them to depart with their spoils. Sviatoslav , prince of Kiev , commanded the next attack, which destroyed the Khazar state in 965. Sviatoslav's campaign established the Rus's hold on the north-south trade routes, helping to alter the demographics of the region. Raids continued through the time period with the last Scandinavian attempt to reestablish the route to the Caspian Sea taking place in 1041 by Ingvar the Far-Travelled .
Featured at Did you know section at the Wikipedia's Main Page
... that the dates of birth and death of the Ukrainian music theorist and composer Nikolay Diletsky
...that during the Shuliavka worker's uprising of 1905 Shuliavka neighborhood in Kiev to clean the area of any resistors to their movement?
...that Vasyl Krychevsky Ukrainian artist , designed the state emblem of the Ukrainian National Republic at the request of Mykhailo Hrushevskyi ?
...that the Emperor of Russia, Alexander III bought the art of Ukrainian realist painter Volodymyr Orlovsky
...that Swedish–Ukrainian relations Charles XII was named protector of Ukraine in the first Ukrainian constitution of 1710 and that Hetman Pylyp Orlyk lived in Sweden 1716–1720?
...that the Russian composers Peter Tchaikovsky , Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov , and Serge Rachmaninoff used Ukrainian folk melodies
...that Polish–Ukrainian relations fall of communism , and both countries now have a strong strategic relationship?
...that the Ukrainian Baroque architecture pictured ) is distinct from Western European Baroque in that its designs were more constructivist, had more moderate ornamentation, and were simpler in form?
...that according to Ukrainian folklore , the girl who finds Chervona Ruta Red Rue " in Ukrainian , on the Ivan Kupala Day , will be happy in love?
...that the 11th century Duke Yaropolk Izyaslavich Eastern Orthodox saint ?
...that in 1956 the Pidhirtsi Castle Lviv Oblast , Ukraine burned for three weeks costing US$ 12 million in damages?
By the water well Konstiantyn Trutovsky Konstiantyn Trutovsky was a Ukrainian realist painter and graphic artist. His artistic heritage includes numerous genre screens on Ukrainian themes. Trutovsky was interested in ethnography and depicted colorful Ukrainian folk customs, not shying away from "a dash of good humour".
Selected anniversaries for October
News from Ukraine
August 8 , 2008 — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine South Ossetia region of Georgia .(UNIAN) July 31 , 2008 — The Ukrainian parliament (Reuters) July 27 , 2008 — A flood Western Ukraine kills 22 people, including six children, while flooding some 40,000 homes.(Reuters) July 25 , 2008 — Patriarch Bartholomew I Kiev to celebrate the 1020th anniversary of the Christianization of Kievan Rus' .(NRCU) July 13 , 2008 — Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko Tony Thompson , thereby remaining the IBF , WBO and IBO heavyweight champion of the world.
WikiProjects and collaborations
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To start :Moldavian speaking Ukrainians , Ukrainian speaking Moldavians , Roman Kudlik (in Ukrainian ), Miroslav Skochilyas , Smerichka , Roman Oleksiv , Kiev Governorate , Ivan Nechuy-Levytsky , Marko Vovchok , Metropolitan Oleksiy (Hromadsky) , Leonid Bykov (bio ), Did Panas (uk ), Political reform in Ukraine (2004) , Ukrainian Stock Exchange , Russia-Ukraine relations
Stubs needing expansion :
{{Ukraine-stub}} :Mayor of Kiev , Ukrainian Navy , Ukrainian rock , State Border Guard Service of Ukraine , Berkut (Ukraine) , Sport in Ukraine , Supreme Court of Ukraine , Kiev Bank Union , Ukrzaliznytsia {{Ukraine-hist-stub}} :Koliyivschyna , Elected Cossacks , Koshovyi Otaman , Ataman , 1st Ukrainian Front {{Ukraine-bio-stub}} :Pylyp Orlyk , Ivan Pidkova , Kyrylo Rozumovsky ,{{Ukraine-geo-stub}} :Ros' River , Yayla Mountains , Yablonitsky Pass , Arcadia Beach , Poshtova Square {{East-Slavic-history-stub}} :Battle on the Irpen' River , List of early East Slavic states , Hypatian Codex {{Soviet-stub}} :Ukrainian SSR , Flag of the Ukrainian SSR , Coat of arms of the Ukrainian SSR
Good Articles :Boltysh crater , Andriyivskyy Descent , Rus'-Byzantine War (860) , Kiev Offensive (1920) , Onion dome , Crimean Karaites , Chernobyl disaster effects , Oleg of Novgorod , Second Battle of Kharkov , Kiev Expedition (1018) , Mezhyhirskyi Monastery , Ukraine , Battle of the Kalka River
Korovai Tetyana Yablonska photograph or painting?Proposed featured images ;Photographs of the stations of the Dnipropetrovsk Metro .
A picture of the ministry of defense building.
Ukrainian editions of Wikimedia projects
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