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Early history

The first identifiable groups to populate what is now Ukraine were Cimmerians, Scythians, Sarmatians, and Goths, among other nomadic peoples who arrived throughout the first millennium B.C. These people were well known to colonists and traders in the ancient world, including Greeks and Romans, who established trading outposts which eventually became city states. Slavic tribes occupied central and eastern Ukraine in the sixth century A.D. and played an important role in the establishment of Kiev. In the 9th century Kiev was conquered from the Khazars by the Varangian (Swedish Viking) Oleg. Situated on lucrative trade routes, Kiev quickly prospered as the center of the powerful Slavic/Scandinavian state of Kievan Rus. In the 11th century, Kievan Rus was, geographically, the largest state in Europe. A Christian missionary, Cyril, converted the Kievan nobility (mostly Varangians) and most of the population in 988. Conflict among the feudal lords led to decline in the 12th century. Kiev was razed by Mongol raiders in the 12th century. Subsequently, all principalities on Ukraine acknowledged the sovereignity of Mongols. The Mongol rule was very cruel and people often fled to other countries. The Ukrainian settlements started in Poland and Hungary.

Middle Ages

During 14th centuryPoland and Lithuania fought wars against Mongol invaders, and eventually most of Ukraine were liberated from their rule and divided between Poland and Lihuania. Most of Ukraine were part border part of Lithuania, and some say that the name comes from the border, although name "Ukraine" was used also centuries earlier. Following personal union between Poland and Lithuania there considerable development of education. Poles, German, Armenians and Jews immigrated to the country.

The Commonwealth

After forming Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Ukraine gentry voted for being member of Polish part 1569. Following period is the scene of huge collonisation effort. Many new cities and villages are found. New schools spread ideas of Renaissance, Ukraine culture flourish. Nevertheless, social tensions also grow. Peasants who fled efforts to force them into servitude came to be known as Cossacks and earned a reputation for their fierce martial spirit. After 1648 rebellion and following wars, called also The Deluge, the foundation of the society is destroyed.

In 1667, eastern part of Ukraine was seized by Russia. In 1793, it was reunited as part of the Russian Empire.

Partitions

The 19th century found the region largely agricultural, with a few cities and centers of trade and learning. The region was under the control of the Austrians in the extreme west and of the Russians elsewhere. Ukrainian writers and intellectuals were inspired by the nationalistic spirit stirring other European peoples existing under other imperial governments and were determined to revive Ukrainian linguistic and cultural traditions and re-establish a Ukrainian nation-state. The Russians in particular imposed strict limits on attempts to elevate Ukrainian language and culture, even banning its use and study.

XX century

When World War I and the Bolshevik revolution in Russia shattered the Hapsburg and Russian empires, Ukrainians declared independent statehood. Between 1917 and 1918, three separate Ukrainian republics declared independence. However, 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.

The Ukrainian national idea persevered during the interwar years, and Soviet reaction was severe, particularly under Stalin, who imposed terror campaigns, which ravaged the intellectual class. He also created artificial famines as part of his forced collectivization policies, which killed millions of previously independent peasants and others throughout the country. Estimates of deaths from the 1932-33 famine alone range from 3 million to 7 million.

After Nazi 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. The Nazi's brutality was directed principally against Ukraine's Jews (of whom 1 million were killed) but also against many other Ukrainians. Kiev and other parts of the country were heavily damaged. Some Ukrainians began to resist Nazi Germany as well as the Soviet Union. Resistance against Soviet Government forces continued as late as the 1950s.

Independence

Little changed for Ukraine over the next 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. Ukraine became an independent state on August 24, 1991, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and was a founding member of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Ukrainian voters on December 1, 1991 then overwhelmingly approved a referendum formalizing independence from the Soviet Union.