Ukrainian Genocide Famine Foundation - USA

Ukrainian history began in the 9th century with the rise of the city of Kyiv as the center of an empire that came to be called 'Kyivan Rus'. In 988, the people of 'Kyivan
Rus', then ruled by Volodymyr the Great (Prince Vladimir), adopted Christianity as the state religion.



After the formation of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth the gentry of Ukraine voted for membership in the Polish part of the Commonwealth 1569. The period
immediately following the creation of the Commonwealth, saw a huge revitalization in colonisation efforts. Many new cities and villages were founded. New schools
spread the ideas of the Renaissance; Polish peasants who arrived in great numbers were quickly Ukrainianized; during this time, many Ukrainian nobles became
Polonized. Social tensions also grew. Ukrainian peasants (and some from other nations) who fled efforts to force them into servitude came to be known as Cossacks
and earned a reputation for their fierce martial spirit.

The Cossack's ill-fated military alliance with Muscovy, however, resulted in a gradual take-over by the Muscovites. Poland quickly came to terms with Muscovy and the
two nations partitioned    Ukraine along the Dnipro River. The Cossacks attempted to free themselves of Russian rule in 1709 by allying themselves with the Swedes
and attacking Muscovy. The Muscovites were victorious and from that day forward began to call themselves "Rus-sians." In 1775, Czarina Catherine II destroyed the
famed Zaporzhian Fort, the last bastion of Cossack independence in Ukraine.

Tsarist rule over central Ukraine gradually replaced 'protection' over the subsequent decades. Through the Partitions of Poland Ukraine fell under the control of the
Austrians in the extreme west (Galacia) and of the Russians elsewhere. Ottoman Empire control receded from south-central Ukraine, while the rule of Hungary over the
Trans-Carpathian region continued.

Ukrainian writers and intellectuals were inspired by the nationalistic spirit stirring other European peoples existing under other imperial governments and became
determined to revive the Ukrainian linguistic and cultural traditions and re-establish a Ukrainian nation-state. All through the 18th and 19th centuries writers and poets like
Taras Shevchenko kept eastern Ukrainian hopes alive by writing about the glories of the past and urging Ukrainians to "cast off your chains."

The Russians in particular imposed strict limits on attempts to elevate Ukrainian language and culture, even banning its use and study. The fate of the Ukrainians was
much more positive under the Austrians. During this time, the people of Ukraine began to accept a change of their name from Rus'/Rusyny (Ruthenia/Ruthenians) to
Ukraine/Ukrainians.

The czarist Russian regime was overthrown in 1917 and eastern Ukrainians established the Ukrainian National Republic. On January 22, 1918, following the
Communist takeover of Russia, the Ukrainian people declared their independence from Russia. At about the same time, the Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed and a
Republic of Western Ukraine was created. On January 22, 1919, the two Ukrainian republics formally united during imposing ceremonies in Kyiv, the national capital.

Ukraine was able to maintain its independence for three years against overwhelming odds. Poland wanted to annex Galicia and invaded from the west. The
communists wanted eastern Ukraine and invaded from the east. A czarist Russian army, still hoping to retrieve "all of Russia," invaded Ukraine from the south. The
communists eventually defeated the Poles, the czarist Russian army, and the Ukrainians. Soviet Russia signed a peace treaty with Poland. By 1921, the western part of
the traditional territory had been incorporated into Poland, and the larger, central and eastern part became part of the Soviet Union as the Ukrainian SSR which
partitioned Ukraine once again.

The Ukrainian national idea persevered during the inter-war years, and Ukrainian culture even enjoyed a revival due to Bolshevik concessions in the early Soviet years.
By the late 1920s, however, the Soviet reaction was severe, particularly under Stalin, who imposed terror campaigns, which ravaged the intellectual class. He also
carried out a genocide against the Ukrainian peasantry as part of his forced collectivization policies. Estimates of deaths from the 1932-1933 famine alone range from
7 million to 11 million.

After German and Soviet troops invaded Poland in 1939, the western Ukrainian regions were incorporated into the Soviet Union. When Nazi Germany invaded the
Soviet Union in 1941, many Ukrainians, particularly in the west, welcomed them, but this did not last. In the encirclement battle of Kiev, acclaimed by the Soviets as a
Hero City, more than 660,000 Soviet troops were taken captive.

Initially, the Germans were warmly received as "liberators" by the Ukrainian population. It should be noted that this generally stemmed from the ferocious repressions of
the kulak peasants(a class that included almost all Ukrainians) by Stalin, and not to a feeling of nationalism. Soon, however, the Germans began their bloody regime of
genocide, killing and deporting Jews and Ukrainian civilians and burning down entire villages, leading many Ukrainians to conclude that Nazi rule was just as terrible, or
even worse, than the Soviet regime.

The Nazi's forced many Ukrainians into slave labor. Kyiv and other parts of the country were heavily damaged. Some Ukrainians began to resist Nazi Germany as well
as the Soviet Union. Both Nazis and Soviets retaliated against the Ukrainians with severe reprisals, including mass executions, destruction of villages, and scorched
earth campaigns. Resistance against Soviet Government forces continued as late as the 1950s.

Total civilian losses during the War and German occupation in Ukraine are estimated at 7 million. The great majority fell victim to atrocities, forced labor, and even
massacres of whole villages in reprisal for attacks against Nazi forces. Of the estimated 11 million Soviet troops who fell in battle against the Nazis, about a fourth (2.7
million) were ethnic Ukrainians. Thus, the Ukrainian nation is distinguished as the first nation to fight the Axis powers during WW II in Carpatho-Ukraine and one that saw
one of the greatest bloodsheds during the War. In addition, the first troops to liberate the Auschwitz Nazi concentration camp were from the Ukrainian SSR.

Little changed for Ukraine over the next few decades. During periods of relative liberalization—as under Nikita Khrushchev from 1955 to 1964—Ukrainian communists
pursued national objectives. In the years of perestroika, under U.S.S.R. President Mikhail Gorbachev, national goals were again advanced by Ukrainian officials.

The town of Pripyat, Ukraine was the site of the Chernobyl accident, which occurred in April 26, 1986 when a nuclear reactor exploded. The fallout contaminated large
areas of northern Ukraine and even parts of Belarus.

Ukraine declared itself an independent state on August 24, 1991, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and became a founding member of the Commonwealth of
Independent States (CIS).

On December 1, 1991 Ukrainian voters overwhelmingly approved a referendum formalizing independence from the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union formally ceased to
exist in December 25, 1991, and with this Ukraine's independence was officially recognized by the international community.



Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko

Sources: Myron B. Kuropas, The Ukrainians in America (Minneapolis: Lerner Publications, 1972)
               (1)   1991 Ukrainian Independence and Orange Revolution commentary by UGFF-USA, Inc.


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