Important Ukrainian History Events

988 - Baptism of the Kyivan Rus by Prince Voldymyr (Vladimir in Russian). His towering image shown here stands watch over the Dnieper and prominently figures in Mikhail Bulgakov's famous novel set in Kyiv - White Guard

1224 – Mongol sacking of Kyivan Rus followed by several centuries of Mongol occupation

1648 – Ukrainian War of Liberation from Poland begins, initiating a brief period of independence

1708 – Battle of Poltava where Ukrainian General Ivan Mazepa made an agreement with the Swedes to jointly oppose the Russian army led by Peter the Great. The defeat of the Ukrainian and Swedish armies meant the beginning of the Russian Empire’s oppression of Ukraine in revenge for Mazepa’s alliance with the Swedes.

1775 – Destruction of the Sich, the last stand of the democratic-like Cossack republic

1861 – Abolition of serfdom

1917 – Great October Socialist Revolution led by Lenin begins. The Socialists executed the Czarist family and the Soviet Empire soon replaced the Russian Empire.

1918 – Ukrainian National Republic is formed. This short-lived state was soon taken over by the Soviet Republic.

1933 – Artificial famine imposed by Soviet rule. Food produced by Ukrainian farmers was taken away in order to be distributed throughout the Soviet Union. A U. S. Congressional investigation concluded the following: "The victims of the Ukrainian Famine numbered in the millions. The Famine was not, as is often alleged, related to drought. The Ukrainian Famine of 1932 - 1933 was caused by maximum extraction of agricultural produce from the rural population. Stalin knew that people were starving to death in Ukraine by late 1932." The touching monument shown here to this atrocity stands outside St. Michael's Monastery along with a written description of its horrors on the wall behind. Visit this site to read more about Stalin's genocide.

1941-45 –World War II results in the tragic loss of millions of Ukrainians and the destruction of most major cities.

1954 - Crimea is given to the Soviet Republic of Ukraine by Soviet Premier Krushchev

1986 – Chernobyl nuclear explosion (read a description of this event under holidays)

24 August 1991 – Ukraine declares independence from the Soviet Union

28 July 1996 – Adoption of the new Ukrainian constitution

read more about Ukraine's history here

Web www.ueckyiv.org