UKRAINE in Perspective TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: GEOGRAPHY......................................................................................................... 1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1 Geographic Divisions and Topographic Features .................................................................... 1 Climate ..................................................................................................................................... 2 Water Resources ...................................................................................................................... 3 Major Cities ............................................................................................................................. 4 Kyiv .................................................................................................................................. 4 Kharkiv ............................................................................................................................. 5 Odesa ................................................................................................................................ 6 Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhya .......................................................................... 7 Lviv ................................................................................................................................... 9 Natural Hazards ..................................................................................................................... 10 Environmental Concerns ....................................................................................................... 11 Chapter 1 Assessment ............................................................................................................ 13 CHAPTER 2: HISTORY .............................................................................................................. 14 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 14 Ancient Peoples ..................................................................................................................... 14 Kyivan Rus ............................................................................................................................ 16 Galicia-Volhynia .................................................................................................................... 17 Lithuania ................................................................................................................................ 17 Crimea .................................................................................................................................... 18 Poland .................................................................................................................................... 18 Cossacks ................................................................................................................................ 19 Russia ..................................................................................................................................... 20 Austrian Galicia ..................................................................................................................... 21 Revolutions, Wars, and Ukrainian Republics ........................................................................ 22 Soviet Ukraine ....................................................................................................................... 23 Formation and early years .............................................................................................. 23 World War II .................................................................................................................. 24 From Khruschev to Gorbachev ...................................................................................... 25 Independent Ukraine .............................................................................................................. 26 The Orange Revolution .................................................................................................. 28 Recent History ....................................................................................................................... 28 Chapter 2 Assessment ............................................................................................................ 29 CHAPTER 3: ECONOMY ........................................................................................................... 30 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 30 Agriculture and Food Production .......................................................................................... 30 Industry .................................................................................................................................. 31 © DLIFLC | i UKRAINE in Perspective Energy .................................................................................................................................... 33 Natural Resources .................................................................................................................. 35 Trade ...................................................................................................................................... 36 Transportation ........................................................................................................................ 38 Tourism .................................................................................................................................. 38 Banking and Finance ............................................................................................................. 39 Standard of Living ................................................................................................................. 41 Employment Trends ............................................................................................................... 42 Public vs. Private Sector ........................................................................................................ 43 Outlook .................................................................................................................................. 44 Chapter 3 Assessment ............................................................................................................ 45 CHAPTER 4: SOCIETY .............................................................................................................. 46 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 46 Ethnic Groups and Languages ............................................................................................... 46 Ethnic Groups ................................................................................................................. 47 Languages ....................................................................................................................... 48 Religion .................................................................................................................................. 49 Gender Issues ......................................................................................................................... 51 Cuisine ................................................................................................................................... 53 Traditional Dress ................................................................................................................... 54 Arts ........................................................................................................................................ 54 Folk Arts ......................................................................................................................... 54 Religious Influences ....................................................................................................... 55 “High” and “Low” Culture ............................................................................................. 56 Sports and Recreation ............................................................................................................ 58 Chapter 4 Assessment ............................................................................................................ 59 CHAPTER 5: SECURITY ............................................................................................................ 60 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 60 U.S.-Ukraine Relations .......................................................................................................... 60 Relations with Neighboring Countries .................................................................................. 61 Russian Federation ......................................................................................................... 61 Belarus ............................................................................................................................ 63 Visegrad Countries: Poland, Hungary, Slovakia (and Czech Republic) .......................