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Ukraine Page |
Welcome to ElectionInfo.com's pages on Ukraine
Official Name: Ukraine
Capital: Kiev
Area: 603,700 square kilometres ( 233,090 square miles )
Major cities (Population)
Kiev 2,809,000 (1995 estimate)
Kharkhov 1,680,000 (1995 estimate)
Dnepropetrovsk 1,230,000 (1995 estimate)
Donets’k 1,149,000 (1995 estimate)
Odessa 1,122,000 (1995 estimate)
Lviv 852,000 (1995 estimate)
Mariupol’ 520,000 (1990 estimate)
Population: 51,380,000 (1995 estimate)
Population growth rate: -0.1 per cent (1990-1995 average)
Type of government: Republic
Independence: 1 December 1991 (from Union of Soviet Socialist Republics [USSR])
Constitution: Using 1978 pre-independence constitution; new constitution currently being drafted.
Voting Rights: Universal at age 18
Government
Ukraine is a parliamentary democracy led by a powerful executive president. The Verkhovna Rada, or parliament, has 450 directly elected members representing a large number of political parties. The prime minister, Yevgeny Marchuk, was appointed in June 1995. All citizens may vote at age 18.
Recent History
On the breakup of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) at the end of 1991, Ukraine became an independent republic. Many of the issues facing Ukraine after independence have been concerned with its relationship with Russia. Political tensions developed over Crimea, which had a majority Russian-speaking population.
Shortly after Ukrainian independence, a Russian-led movement to secede from Ukraine was formed in Crimea, and this succeeded in creating an autonomous republic. Crimea also issued a declaration of independence, which was rescinded in May 1992. In the same month, however, the Supreme Soviet of Russia declared the 1954 transfer of Crimea to Ukraine null and void, thereby engaging Russia in the debate. In January 1994 Yuryy Meshkov, a former Soviet border guard and legal prosecutor, was elected president of Crimea on a platform of reunification with Russia. After his inauguration, Meshkov removed local appointees of the Ukrainian government, an action that the Ukrainian government declared illegal. In May 1994 Crimea voted to reactivate its constitution, which had been suspended in 1992. The Ukrainian response included a measure that would allow the Ukrainian Supreme Council the power to cancel Crimean legislation that countermanded that of the national body. In 1995 Crimean deputies threatened to hold a referendum on reunification with Russia. The Ukrainian Supreme Council then annulled the Crimean constitution and abolished the presidency, while Crimea called for Russian intervention.
Meanwhile, another separatist movement had developed in the Donets’k and Luhans’k regions of eastern Ukraine, which also had majority Russian-speaking populations. In referendums held in these regions in March 1994, voters called for official status for the Russian language, a federal system of government, and closer ties with Russia.
Also following independence, Ukraine and Russia both claimed ownership of the Black Sea Fleet, stationed in the Crimean port of Sevastopol’. An agreement was reached in 1992 to share joint command of the fleet until 1995, when it would be divided between the two countries. However, tensions continued over the issue, sometimes erupting into armed confrontation. In June 1995 Ukraine and Russia agreed to split the fleet evenly. Ukraine planned to sell most of its share to Russia, retaining about 20 per cent. In January 1994 President Leonid Kravchuk agreed to transfer part of Ukraine's nuclear arsenal to Russia for disposal in exchange for nuclear fuel for use in power generation. In July 1994 former Prime Minister Leonid Kuchma was elected president with 52 per cent of the vote. As a part of Kuchma's economic reform package, prices for basic agricultural commodities were allowed to rise in early 1995. Kuchma's policies, which focused on long-term economic success, were expected to result in higher prices, unemployment, and the closure of some businesses. In March 1995 Prime Minister Vitaliy Masol, who had resisted many of Kuchma's economic changes, resigned, thus removing a major obstacle to Kuchma's reform efforts. In June 1995 Kuchma appointed a new prime minister, Yevgeny Marchuk, as part of an agreement with the Ukrainian parliament that gave the president broader powers over the government.
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