Ukraine's Orange Revolution: Democracy and Reforms in the 21st Century

1. 7. The culture of Ukraine in the ХХ – the beginning of ХХI c.

2. The opposition candidate was Viktor Yushchenko, leader of the Our Ukraine faction in the Ukrainian parliament, also a former Prime Minister (1999–2001). • The election was held in a highly charged atmosphere, with the Yanukovych team using their control of the government for intimidation of Yushchenko and his supporters. • In September 2004, Yushchenko suffered dioxin poisoning under mysterious circumstances.

3. Viktor Yanukovych was declared the winner of the presidential elections. • The results caused a public outcry in support of the opposition candidate, Viktor Yushchenko, who challenged the results and led the peaceful Orange Revolution. • Beginning on November 22, 2004, massive protests started in cities across Ukraine: the largest, in Kiev's MaidanNezalezhnosti, attracted an estimated 500,000 participants.

4. At the same time, local officials in Eastern and Southern Ukraine, the stronghold of Viktor Yanukovych, started a series of actions alluding to the possibility of the breakup of Ukraine or an extra-constitutional federalization of the country, should their candidate's claimed victory not be recognized. • On December 3, 2004, Ukraine's Supreme Court ordered a revote of the run-off to be held on December 26, 2004.

5. The December 26 revote was held under intense scrutiny of local and international observers. • The preliminary results, announced by the Central Election Commission on December 28, gave Yushchenko and Yanukovych 51.99% and 44.20% of the total vote, respectively. • This Election Commission announcementcleared the way for Yushchenko'sinauguration as the President of Ukraine.

6. In March 2006, the VerkhovnaRadaelections took place and three months later the official government was formed by the "Anti-Crisis Coalition" among the Party of Regions, Communist, and Socialist parties. • The new coalition nominated Viktor Yanukovych for the post of Prime Minister. • On April 3, 2007, President Yushchenko dissolved the Supreme Rada and called for preterm elections.

7. The new coalition nominated YuliyaTymoshenko as Prime Minister; she was confirmed December 18, 2007. • So far, Prime Minister Tymoshenko and President Yushchenko are cooperating more constructively than they did in 2005 as they tackle an ambitious agenda of reforms and Euro-Atlantic integration. • Ukraine's stated national policy is Euro-Atlantic integration, including with both NATO and the European Union (EU).

10. Orange-clad demonstrators gather in the Independence Square in Kiev on 22 November, 2004. On some days, the number of protesters in the center of Kiev reached hundreds of thousands (one million by some estimates)

11. Protesters at Independence Square on the first day of the Orange Revolution.

12. Blue-clad miners rally in support of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych in Kiev.

13. An orange ribbon, a symbol of the Ukrainian Orange Revolution. Ribbons are common symbols of non-violent protest.

14. Government and politics • Ukraine is a republic under a mixed semi-parliamentary semi-presidential system with separate legislative, executive, and judicial branches. • The President is elected by popular vote for a five-year term and is the formal head of state. • Ukraine's legislative branch includes the 450-seat unicameral parliament, the VerkhovnaRada.

15. The parliament is primarily responsible for the formation of the executive branch and the Cabinet of Ministers, which is headed by the Prime Minister. • The Supreme Court is the main body in the system of courts of general jurisdiction. • The European Union offered an Association Agreement with Ukraine in September, 2008. The country is a potential candidate for future enlargement of the European Union.

16. Verkhovna Rada, the Parliament of Ukraine

17. Administrative divisions • Ukraine is subdivided into twenty-four oblasts (provinces) and one autonomous republic, Crimea. • The 24 oblasts and Crimea are subdivided into 490 raions (districts), or second-level administrative units. • n total, Ukraine has 457 cities, 176 of them are labeled oblast-class, 279 smaller raion-class cities, and two special legal status cities. These are followed by 886 urban-type settlements and 28,552 villages.

19. Geography • At 603,700 kilometres² (233,074 sq mi) and with a coastline of 2,782 kilometres (1,729 mi), Ukraine is the world's 44th-largest country (after the Central African Republic, before Madagascar). • It is the second largest country in Europe (after the European part of Russia, before metropolitan France).

20. The Ukrainian landscape consists mostly of fertile plains (or steppes) and plateaus, crossed by rivers such as the Dnieper (Dnipro), Seversky Donets, Dniester and the Southern Buh as they flow south into the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. • The country's only mountains are the Carpathian Mountains in the west, of which the highest is the HoraHoverla at 2,061 m (6,762 ft), and those on the Crimean peninsula, in the extreme south along the coast.

21. View of Yalta from the coast of the Black Sea.

22. Azov sea coast near Kerch.

23. The Dnieper River seen atop a hill in Kiev, Ukraine.

24. Tiraspol and the Dniester river

27. Economy • With the collapse of the Soviet system, the country moved from a planned economy to a market economy. • Ukraine produces nearly all types of transportation vehicles and spacecraft. • The country imports most energy supplies, especially oil and natural gas, and to a large extent depends on Russia as its energy supplier. • While 25 percent of the natural gas in Ukraine comes from internal sources, about 35 percent comes from Russia and the remaining 40 percent from Central Asia through transit routes that Russia controls.

28. The World Bank classifies Ukraine as a middle-income state.[ • By July 2008 the average nominal salary in Ukraine reached 1,930  hryvnias per month.[92 • Significant issues include underdeveloped infrastructure and transportation, corruption and bureaucracy. • Ukraine produces nearly all types of transportation vehicles and spacecraft. • Ukraine is recognised as a world leader in producing missiles and missile related technology.

29. The building of the National Bank of Ukraine

30. Ukrainian oblasts (provinces) by monthly salary

32. Culture • Ukrainian customs are heavily influenced by Christianity, which is the dominant religion in the country. • The tradition of the Easter egg, known as pysanky, has long roots in Ukraine. • In the city of Kolomya near the foothills of the Carpathian mountains in 2000 was built the museum of Pysanka which won a nomination as the monument of modern Ukraine in 2007, part of the Seven Wonders of Ukraine action.

33. Popular traditional dishes include varenyky(boiled dumplings with mushrooms, potatoes, sauerkraut, cottage cheese or cherries), borsch (soup made of beets, cabbage and mushrooms or meat) and holubtsy (stuffed cabbage rolls filled with rice, carrots and meat).

34. A collection of traditional pysanky from Volyn

35. The Pysanka Museum, Kolomiya, Ukraine

36. 1. Sofiyivsky Parkin Uman, Cherkasy Oblast

37. It was founded in 1796 by CountStanisław Szczęsny Potocki, a noble Polish szlahtich. The park is named after his Greek wife Sofia and was built in 1802. It's one of the world famous garden-park art creations. There are many scenic areas in the park including waterfalls, fountains, ponds and a stone garden. It is one of the most famous examples of late 17th or early 18th century European landscape garden design that has been preserved to the present time.

38. 2. Kiev Pechersk Lavra(Monastery of the Caves) in Kiev

39. Since its foundation as the cave monastery in 1015 the Lavra has been a prominent center of the Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Eastern Europe. Together with the Saint-Sophia Cathedral, it is inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Currently, the jurisdiction over the site is divided between the state museum, National Kyiv-Pechersk Historic-Cultural Preserve, and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as the site of the chief monastery of that Church and the residence of its leader, Metropolitan Volodymyr.

40. 3. Kamianets-Podilskyi Historical Complex inKamianets-Podilskyi, Khmelnytskyi Oblast

41. An old street in Kamianets-Podilskyi's old town quarter.

42. The Stephen Báthory Gate is part of the city's old fortification complex.

43. 4. Khortytsia[8] in Zaporizhia, Zaporizhia Oblast

44. Nowadays, Khortysia is designated a national museum. The rural landscape of the island features the Zaporizhian CossackMuseum and a Cossack horse show. The museum building is modern, nestling low in the landscape with dramatic views of the Dnieper Hydroelectric Station to the north. The museum contains exhibits dating from the Stone Age through the Scythian period (c.750 - 250 BC) down to the 20th century, including a model of the Pecheneg ambush which claimed the life of Svyatoslav in 972 and a panorama representing the Battle for Zaporizhia, fought during World War II on October 14, 1943.

45. 5. Chersonesos[9] in Sevastopol

46. Chersonesos was an ancient Greek colony founded approximately 2500 years ago in the southwestern part of Crimea, known then as Taurica. The colony was established in the 6th century BC. Chersonesos' ancient ruins are presently located in one of Sevastopol's suburbs. The buildings mix influences of Greek, Roman and Byzantine culture. The defensive wall is hundreds of meters long. Buildings include Roman amphitheatre and a Greek temple.

47. 6. Saint Sophia Cathedral[10] in Kiev

48. 7. Khotyn Fortress[11] in Khotyn, Chernivtsi Oblast

49. The Khotyn Fortress is a fortification complex located on the shores of the Dniester River in Khotyn, Chernivtsi Oblast of western Ukraine. Construction on the current fortress was started in 1325, while major improvements were made in the 1380s and in the 1460s. The fortress is a large tourist attraction for the area and Ukraine. It is also a National Ukrainian Architectural Preserve as of 2000.

50. Language • According to the Constitution, the state language of Ukraine is Ukrainian. • According to the 2001 census, 67.5 percent of the population declared Ukrainian as their native language and 29.6 percent declared Russian. • Most native Ukrainian speakers know Russian as a second language. • Ukrainian is mainly spoken in western and central Ukraine. • In central Ukraine, Ukrainian and Russian are both equally used • In eastern and southern Ukraine, Russian is primarily used in cities, and surzhyk is used in rural areas.