Ukraine: History

1918

Ukraine declares independence from Russia. A civil war breaks out between the numerous rival governments vying for control of the nation.

1921

The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic is established after Russia conquers the eastern two-thirds of the nation. The western region becomes a part of independent Poland.

1928 Joseph Stalin introduces his first five year plan for the Soviet Union. This plan leads to rapid industrialization in Ukraine with industrial output increasing fourfold by the onset of World War II.

1932 The Soviet policy of collectivization in the agriculture industry creates a massive man-made famine during which approximately 7 million Ukrainian peasants died.

1941 Nazi occupation of Ukraine from 1941 to 1944 devastates Ukraine, as much of its industrial infrastructure is destroyed.

1991 Ukraine declares independence from the Soviet Union.

1996 The hryvna is introduced as the new national currency.

2008

The global financial crisis causes the price of steel, one of Ukraine's main exports, to crash. Many foreign investors pull out as the value of the hryvna plummets. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) offers Ukraine a $16.5 billion loan to help deal with the economic crisis.

2013

Tens of thousands of protesters take to the streets across the nation to protest the government's sudden decision to abandon plans to sign an association agreement with the European Union.

2014

Russian forces seize and annex Crimea. The European Union and United States begin to impose increasingly harsh sanctions on Russia in response.

2019

Volodymyr Zelensky elected as President

2022

Ukraine rallies forces to resist the Russian Invasion of Ukraine.