Ukraine is a nation located in Eastern Europe and which shares its borders with seven countries including Russia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, Moldova, and Belarus. With regards to coordinates, the country ranges from 44.380 to 52.380 in latitude and from 22.160 to 40.220 in longitude. Formerly a state in the Union of Soviet Socialists Republics (USSR), Ukraine gained its sovereignty from ruling Russia in the year 1991 hence becoming an independent country. Ukraine’s capital city is Kiev, and it is also the largest and most populous city in the country. The country’s official language is Ukrainian, and her people write using the Cyrillic alphabet. Hryvnia (UAH) is the currency used in Ukraine (Yuriy, 2014). In this regard, the essay will discuss and describe Ukraine in detail including its population, environment, culture, economy, and geopolitics.
Currently, Ukraine’s population is about 44.8 million. However, the country is in a raging dispute with Russia over the ownership of Crimea, and hence its population without Crimea reduces to 42.5 million people. Its population density, therefore, stands at 77 people in every kilometer squared (Yuriy, 2014). Kiev, Ukraine’s capital, is the country’s most populous city with about 2.8 million people. The second most populous city is Kharkiv with approximately 1.4 million people while the third is Dnipropetrovsk with 1.03 million people. Following closely is Donetsk with 1.02 million people, and Odessa with 1 million people (Yuriy, 2014). During the USSR regime, there existed a policy allowing Ukrainian out-migration and Russian in-migration. The policy reduced the Ukrainians portion of the country’s population from 77 percent in the year 1959 to 73 percent at the end of the USSR regime in 1991. However, the trend was reversed after Ukraine’s independence from USSR with Ukrainians increasing to more than 75 percent by the year 2000. Russians are still the largest minority group with less than 20 percent. The remaining part of the population is shared by Poles, Bulgarians, Hungarians, Moldovans, Belarusians, Gypsies, Romanians among other smaller communities. The Crimean Tatars were the smaller minority group after their deportation in 1944. In 1989, they began going back to Crimea, and by early 2000, they made up one of the biggest minority groups (Yuriy, 2014).
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Looking at Ukraine’s environment, the country is blessed with a large physical space, which contains various relief features, a vast drainage system, and a relatively moderate climate. The country is bordered to the east by Russia, to the west by Poland and Slovakia, to the north by Belarus, to the southwest by Romania and Moldova, and the south by the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. The southeastern side of Ukraine has the Kerch Strait, which separates the country from Russia. The strait connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov, and it is where the contentious Crimea is located (Subtelny, 2009). In physical size, Ukraine is the second largest European nation after Russia. Its land covers about 579,330 kilometers squared while its waters are about 24,220 kilometers squared. Therefore, the country’s total area is about 603 kilometers squared making it rank 46 th in the world’s largest countries (Subtelny, 2009). The relief of Ukraine is majorly defined by the Russian plains otherwise known as the East European Plains. Ukraine sits on the southwest part of the plains. The country is almost entirely made up of level plains which are averagely elevated at 574 feet above sea level. Mountainous regions, which include the Crimean Mountains and the Ukrainian Carpathians are located on the borders and make up less than five percent of the country’s area. Nevertheless, there is some diversity in Ukraine’s landscape with the highlands and lowlands cutting through the plains from its northwestern region to its southeastern side (Subtelny, 2009).
Concerning drainage, the main Ukrainian rivers flow from its northwestern side to the southeast. The rivers flow through the vast plains and emptying into the two major seas; the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov (Subtelny, 2009). The longest river in the country is the Dnieper River which has 609 miles of its course into Ukraine and drains into the Black Sea. The river has many tributaries, big reservoirs, and hydroelectric dams. Other major rivers include the Southern Bur, and the Dniester, which also drain into the Black Sea. Ukraine’s climate can be described as being of moderate warmth with humid air flowing from the Atlantic Ocean as the country sits in a temperate climate region (Subtelny, 2009). According to the author, the average annual temperatures are between 5.5 and 7 degrees Celsius to its north and 11 and 13 degrees Celsius to its south.
Ukrainians possess a wide variety of cultural talent. The dominant religions among Ukrainians are Greek Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy (Subtelny, 2009). Various parts of the country have impressive architecture monuments and museums that display artworks done by generations of artists. Ukraine’s geographical position has made its culture to be influenced by both Russian and European cultures. Contemporary Ukrainian artists also have their place in modern art galleries. The tradition of folk art in the country that has been embraced for decades is still being practiced to date. The folk art has, however, evolved over centuries with activities such as ceramics, wood carvings, weaving, and embroidery being embraced at different times (Subtelny, 2009). Additionally, Ukraine has numerous concert halls and theatres where high caliber artists regularly perform. Ukrainians still embrace folk music to this day. Christian music and secular music are also popular among its population. Finally, the country has embraced urbanization with its cities boasting of high-end shopping malls and fashion stores for the moneyed class (Subtelny, 2009).
The economy of Ukraine is well off compared to many other countries in Europe and the world. Today, Magocsi (2010) claims that Ukraine’s normal Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is estimated to be $112 billion and ranks about 60 th in the world. The country’s economy developed as part of the larger USSR economy. Nevertheless, Ukraine felt like they were being treated unfairly by the USSR in the 1980s as they were allocated only 16 percent of the investment funds yet they produced a majority of goods (Magocsi, 2010). The country’s economy suffered a severe strain in the early 1990s after leaving the USSR. They, however, put their act together and began growing by the turn of the 21 st century. This was partially due to increased relations with Russia. The political crisis that led to the fall-out between Ukraine and Russia in 2014 made the former’s economy to sharply contract again (Magocsi, 2010). Ukraine’s economy is mainly supported by agriculture and fishing because of the county’s favorable climate and rich soils. Manufacturing is also essential in holding the country’s economy with products such as food products, heavy machinery, ferrous metals, and chemicals being manufactured. Other fields that support the country’s economy include resources and power, trade, finance, services, among others (Magocsi, 2010).
Currently, the most trending news about Ukraine is its conflict with Russia. Ukraine’s geopolitics is almost always about Russia. According to Magocsi (2010), relations between Ukraine and Russia have been frosty since the former gained her sovereignty from USSR. The two countries seemed to have settled their issues at the beginning of the 21 st century. However, political tensions were again raised in 2014 after the overthrowing of President Viktor Yanukovych who was Pro-Russian. Russia retaliated by an illegal annexing of Crimea and stimulating an insurgency in southeast Ukraine (Magocsi, 2010). Recently, the tensions escalated after three of Ukraine’s naval vessels were captured by Russia of Crimea’s coast, which revived the Crimea’s standoff between the two countries.
In conclusion, Ukraine seems like a country that cannot just be ignored. Its geographical position between Russia and the rest of Europe has been strategic to the country’s operations. Besides, its long-standing feud with Russia makes it to always be on the news. As such, this essay has examined this Eastern Europe country in detail while focusing on its population, environment, culture, economy, and geopolitics.
References
Magocsi, P.R. (2010). “A History of Ukraine: The Land and its People.” 2 nd Edition, University of Toronto Press, Toronto Buffalo London.
Subtelny, O. (2009). “Ukraine: A History.” 4 th Edition, University of Toronto Press, Toronto Buffalo London.
Yuriy, B. (2014). “Labour Migration of Ukraine’s Population: Scientific and Public Discourse.” Transformations in Business & Economics, Vol. 13, Issue 1, Pp. 196-208.
