Ukraine (Ukrainian Ukraina), country in eastern Europe, and the second largest country in Europe after Russia. Ukraine is bordered on the west by Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary; on the southwest by Romania and Moldova; on the south by the Black Sea and Sea of Azov; on the east and northeast by Russia; and on the north by Belarus. The Crimean Autonomous Republic—encompassing the Crimean Peninsula, or Crimea, in the south—is included in Ukraine’s borders. The capital and largest city is Kyiv (Kiev).

From the 9th century ad northern Ukraine was part of Kievan Rus, the first significant East Slavic state, which succumbed to the Mongol invasions of the 13th century. Ukraine was for centuries thereafter under the rule of a succession of foreign powers, including Poland and the Russian Empire. In 1918 a Bolshevik (Communist) government was established in Ukraine, and in 1922 the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR) was one of the four founding republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Ukraine’s declaration of independence, approved by a popular vote on December 1, 1991, was a major factor in the USSR’s collapse later that month.

The total area of Ukraine is 603,700 sq km (233,100 sq mi). The country extends 1,316 km (818 mi) east to west and 893 km (555 mi) north to south. Much of the country is a rolling upland plain, with the highest elevations in the western half of the country and the southeastern Donets’k region. A lowland region of wooded bogs and swamps, called the Poles’ye (also called the Pripet Marshes), is located in northern Ukraine, although much of this region has been drained and cleared for agriculture. Low-lying plains are found in southern Ukraine in the lower Dnieper (Dnipro) River Basin and the Black Sea coastal region. Ukraine’s coastline, including Crimea, extends 2,780 km (1,730 mi). The Carpathian Mountains in the extreme west and the Crimean Mountains in the southern end of Crimea take up about 5 percent of Ukraine’s territory. Mount Hoverla in the Carpathians is the country’s highest peak at 2,061 m (6,762 ft).

The Dnieper, Europe’s third largest river, flows through central Ukraine and forms the country’s main river network. More than half of the country’s rivers belong to this system. The Dnieper is Ukraine’s longest river, measuring about 980 km (about 610 mi) in length within the country’s borders. Other major rivers are the Dniester (known as the Dnister in Ukraine), the Bug (Buh), and the Southern Bug (Pivdennyy Buh) in the west, and the Donets in the east. The Danube (Dunay) forms part of Ukraine’s border with Romania in the extreme southwest. Except for the Bug, which flows northward into the Wisla (Vistula) in Poland, all of Ukraine’s major rivers flow southward and empty into the Black Sea or the Sea of Azov. Ukraine has more than 3,000 small lakes that cover about 3 percent of its territory.

Wildlife in Ukraine includes elk, deer, wild boars, brown bears, and wolves.. Species such as bison and wild horses have long been extinct. Others, such as mouflon (wild sheep), spotted deer, and muskrats, have been successfully reintroduced. A network of 10 nature reserves and more than 100 wildlife refuges has been established to protect wildlife, especially beaver, lynx, elk, and muskrat. Birds include the Eurasian black vulture, steppe eagle, and gray heron. Ukraine has more than 200 species of fish, including pike, carp, and sturgeon. There are 25 species of domesticated animals, including cattle, hogs, sheep, and goats.

Soviet policies of raising industrial and agricultural productivity with little regard to ecological considerations have had a devastating effect on the environment. Air pollution is especially severe in such industrial centers as Zaporizhzhya, Luhans’k, and Donets’k. Industrial and agricultural pollutants have contaminated soil in the south and drinking water throughout the country. Ukraine lacks funds for recycling and conservation programs, and pollution controls remain at a minimum.

The April 1986 explosion and core meltdown of a reactor at the Chernobyl’ nuclear power plant in northern Ukraine had an enormous impact on the region’s environment (see Chernobyl’ Accident). Northern Ukraine and especially southern Belarus were the most severely contaminated areas from the radioactive plume that was released in the explosion. Radioactive materials from the accident seeped into the ground, contaminating farmland and the water supply. The long-term impact on human health and the environment is still being assessed. The four Chernobyl’ reactors, only one of which was still in operation from 1996 through 2000, continue to be a major hazard, especially to Ukraine’s water supply. The Chernobyl’ complex was finally shut down completely in December 2000, with the financial assistance of Western nations. The funds were to pay for the completion of two other nuclear power plants that would produce enough power to make up for the loss of the power supply from the Chernobyl’ plant.

The population of Ukraine was estimated in 2003 at 48,055,439, giving the country a population density of 80 persons per sq km (206 per sq mi). The most notable recent demographic trend has been a decline in population—with an estimated loss of nearly 1.2 million between 1990 and 1997—due to death rates exceeding birth rates. Leading factors in the country’s low fertility and high mortality rates are environmental pollution, poor diet, widespread smoking and alcoholism, and deteriorating medical care. Some 68 percent of the population lives in cities and towns. The largest cities in Ukraine are Kyiv, the country’s capital and economic, cultural, and educational center; Kharkiv, noted for its engineering expertise, machinery plants, and educational institutions; Dnipropetrovs’k, a center of metallurgical and aerospace industries; and Donets’k, known for mining and metallurgy. Odesa (Odessa), on the Black Sea coast, is the country’s largest seaport.

Ethnic Ukrainians make up 73 percent of the population of Ukraine. Russians are the largest minority group at 22 percent. Jews (considered both an ethnic and a religious group in Ukraine) and Belarusians each account for about 1 percent of the total. Other numerically significant groups are Bulgarians, Poles, Hungarians, and Romanians. Since the end of World War II in 1945, the proportion of Russians nearly doubled, while the Jewish population declined by about half as a result of emigration. Ethnic clashes are rare, although some tension exists in Crimea between Crimean Tatars and ethnic Russians. The Crimean Tatars, who were forcibly deported to Central Asia in 1944, are being allowed to resettle in Crimea. Of the 250,000 who have returned, about 100,000 still have inadequate housing and 70,000 have not yet received Ukrainian citizenship.

The official language of the country is Ukrainian, which forms with Russian and Belarusian the eastern branch of the Slavic language subfamily of Indo-European languages. Russian also is widely used, especially in the cities.

During most of the Soviet period, the state imposed severe restrictions on religious activity, banned many churches, and persecuted religious leaders. Many believers, forced underground, continued to adhere to their faiths, however. Religious activity remained relatively strong in Ukraine, and it has greatly expanded since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. A majority of the population adheres to Eastern Orthodoxy through the Ukrainian Orthodox Church or the Ukrainian Autocephalous (independent) Orthodox Church. Until 1990 all of the country’s Orthodox churches were part of the Ukrainian exarchate, which was subsidiary to the patriarchate (jurisdiction of the patriarch, or head) of the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1992 the Ukrainian Orthodox Church split into two rival denominations when the Kyivan patriarchate was formed, separating itself from the Moscow patriarchate. The autocephalous church, which was banned by the Soviet government in 1930, regained legal status in 1990. About 10 percent of the population, based almost exclusively in western Ukraine, belongs to the Ukrainian Catholic (Uniate) Church, a church of the Byzantine rite (see Eastern Rite Churches); banned in 1946, this church was officially revived in 1991. Other denominations include Roman Catholics of the Latin rite, Jews, Muslims, and Baptists.

Literacy is almost universal in Ukraine, and education is compulsory between the ages of 6 and 15. Ukraine’s institutions of higher learning include ten universities and a large number of specialized academies. The most prestigious is the University of Kyiv (founded in 1834), located in the capital. L’viv State University (1784), located in L’viv, is the country’s oldest university. In recent years private schools and universities have appeared, most notably the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy (1992), located in Kyiv.

Ukraine’s geographical location between Europe and Asia meant that much of its early culture was a synthesis of Eastern and Western influences. When a developed culture emerged in the medieval, or Kievan, period, the influence of the Byzantine Empire was paramount. In early modern times, major European currents such as the Renaissance reached Ukraine via Poland. A cultural dichotomy today exists within Ukraine, with western regions reflecting European, especially Polish, influence, while in the eastern regions the impact of Russian culture is evident.

The well-developed and colorful folklore of Ukraine has helped Ukrainians retain a cultural distinctiveness in the face of strong assimilatory pressures from neighboring lands. During the Soviet period the government extensively subsidized cultural activity, but culture was expected to serve as a vehicle for Communist propaganda. In the late 1920s and especially in the early 1930s, the Soviet regime began enforcing socialist realism as the only acceptable artistic style. Socialist realism mandated that all artists and writers glorify the Soviet regime and its goal of attaining communism. The collapse of the Soviet Union brought new freedoms for Ukrainian artists, but it also meant a sudden drop in government subsidies. Today government support is minimal and a funding crisis exists. The Westernization of cultural activity is moving ahead rapidly, with commercialized and previously taboo activities such as pop concerts and production of pornography becoming commonplace.

Ukrainians possess a remarkable repertoire of folk songs, and singing is an important part of their culture. In the 17th century they developed an innovative form of choral singing a cappella (without instrumental accompaniment). Important composers of church music in the late 18th century included Maksym Berezovsky, Dmytro Bortniansky, and Artem Vedel. In the 19th century, Semen Hulak-Artemovsky wrote a popular comic opera based on folk themes, Zaporozhets za Dunayem (Zaporozhian Beyond the Danube, 1863). A high point in musical creativity came in the early 20th century when Mykola Lysenko established a school of music that drew heavily on folk songs for inspiration.

Many of the dynamic and colorful folk dances of Ukraine reflect a rural or Cossack lifestyle. The oldest dances are the khorovody, agricultural dance games associated with the cult of the sun. Originally, folk dances were either accompanied by songs or by instruments. They were also exclusively female, such as the metylytsia, or exclusively male, such as the arkan or the famous hopak; today both males and females participate in the same dances. Numerous Ukrainian dance troupes cultivate the traditional folk dances.

Introduced in the late 18th century, classical ballet developed under Russian and European influence and attained high standards. Ukraine has six theaters for opera and ballet performances.

Ukraine was the second-ranking Soviet republic in industrial and agricultural production, after Russia. Long known as the “breadbasket of Europe,” Ukraine traditionally had a highly developed agricultural sector because of its vast, fertile lands. It generated more than one-fourth of the total agricultural output of the Soviet Union. Industrial development was a high priority of the Soviet government. In the 1930s Ukraine experienced a rapid and extensive industrial upsurge, mainly in the mineral-rich Donets’k and Kryvyy Rih regions. Because of Soviet development, which emphasized heavy industry, Ukraine possesses one of the most industrialized economies of Europe. However, its industries are highly inefficient and in pressing need of modernization.

The collapse of the Soviet Union brought a dramatic rise in energy costs and a reduction in demand for Ukraine’s products, causing a catastrophic decline in production. The problems were compounded by high rates of inflation and sluggish reforms to increase private ownership of enterprise. In 1995 and 1996, however, inflation was significantly reduced and reforms toward a system based on free enterprise were accelerated. In addition, the United States as well as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other international organizations provided large grants and loans.

The value of Ukraine’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2001 was $37.6 billion. Agriculture, which includes forestry and fishing, accounted for 17 percent; industry, which includes mining, manufacturing, and construction, accounted for 39 percent; and trade and other services accounted for 44 percent.

Ukraine has a large ferrous metallurgical industry. Heavy industries such as metalworking, mechanical engineering, and machinery and chemicals manufacturing also dominate the industrial sector. Light industries producing consumer goods such as household appliances are underdeveloped by Western standards. Between 1990 and 1995, output in major industries such as metallurgy, coal mining, and chemicals manufacturing decreased by nearly 60 percent. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine’s industrial sector has been cut off from its traditional markets, and supplies from former republics are no longer easily accessible. Products of relatively poor quality and stiff international competition obstruct entry into the global market, while the increasing cost of the energy needed to power industry makes many items too expensive to produce. Other products, especially those of the large defense sector, are no longer in demand.

Most of Ukraine’s electricity (49 percent in 2001) is supplied by steam-driven power plants that burn coal, oil, or natural gas. Only 8 percent of its electricity is supplied by hydroelectric power plants, most notably the Dniprohes hydroelectric station on the Dnieper near Zaporizhzhya, one of Europe’s largest. In the later 1990s Ukraine’s five nuclear power plants generated 44 percent of the country’s electricity. To supply its energy needs, Ukraine must import 80 percent of its natural gas and 90 percent of its oil. Lacking the funds to purchase what it needs, however, Ukraine has had to sharply curtail its consumption of these sources. The resulting energy shortage explains the government’s reluctance to shut down completely the hazardous Chernobyl’ nuclear power plant before 2000. Ukraine’s reliance on nuclear power is expected to increase, with the government planning to complete construction on two plants that were partially built during the Soviet period.

In September 1996 Ukraine introduced its new currency, the hryvnia (5.37 hryvni equal U.S.$1, 2001 average). The currency of the Soviet period, the ruble, ceased to be legal tender in 1992 when it was replaced with a temporary coupon currency, the karbovanets. In 1993 already high inflation reached hyperinflationary levels, with an average annual rate of 4,735 percent; however, a strict monetary policy introduced in late 1994 significantly reduced inflation in 1995 and 1996. The country’s bank of issue is the National Bank of Ukraine, founded in 1991 and located in Kyiv.

Although the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 brought Ukraine independence, the rigidly centralized Soviet structure of government remained. The first five years were a tumultuous time of trying to establish democratic institutions and traditions. Ukraine’s first direct presidential election was held in 1991. In 1994 an early presidential election took place, as well as elections to the legislature. Ukraine was the last of the former Soviet republics to adopt a new constitution. The delay was caused by a struggle in the legislature between reformers, who wanted to introduce a new, democratic system of government, and conservatives, who wanted to preserve the structures of the former Soviet state. The reformers finally triumphed in June 1996 when the legislature adopted a new constitution that stipulated a parliamentary democracy. All citizens aged 18 and over are eligible to vote.

Ukraine’s geographic location between Europe and Asia was an important factor in its early history. The steppes were the domain of Asiatic nomads, the Black Sea coast was inhabited by Greek colonists, and the forests in the northwest were the homeland of the agrarian East Slavic tribes from whom, eventually, the Ukrainian, Russian, and Belarusian nations evolved. As the East Slavs expanded, they accepted, in the 9th century, a Varangian (Viking) elite that led them to establish a vast domain, centered in Kyiv (Kiev) and called Kievan Rus. It became one of the largest, richest, and most powerful lands in medieval Europe. In 988 Saint Volodymyr (Vladimir), grand prince of Kyiv, accepted Orthodox Christianity, and in this way brought Kievan Rus under the cultural influence of the Byzantine Empire. Inter-princely feuds, shifting trade routes, and recurrent nomadic attacks weakened Kievan Rus, however, and in 1240 it fell to the invading Mongols. The western principality of Galicia-Volhynia managed to retain its autonomy for about a century thereafter.