II. Read and translate the text:

The sovereign state of Ukraine celebrated the tenth anniversary of its

independence in 2001. The actual history of Ukraine spans a period of hundreds

upon hundreds of years. We shall not follow the example of some historians and

public figures who in a fit of ultra-patriotic feelings claim that the roots of Ukraine

go deep into the murky prehistoric past to the earliest stages of the Indo-European

civilisation. On the other hand, the many peoples and their culture that existed in the

territory of Ukraine in the past two and a half thousand years did contribute to the

emergence and development of the Ukrainian nation and its culture. Some elements

of these ancient and more recent cultures have become an integral part of the

Ukrainian culture, as we know it today.

Fifth Century BC

A kingdom of the Scythians is formed in the southern parts of Ukraine, the first,

albeit loose, slate formation known to us from various sources (land-tilling, cattle

breeding and large settlements can be traced further back into earlier history, but the

available evidence is not sufficient to form a definite opinion about the ethnic

background of the earliest tribes inhabiting Ukraine, or about their social and

economic structures). In the late sixth or early fifth centuries there appear on the

Crimean southern coast a number of Greek city-states, and a lively cultural

exchange between the Scythians and the Greeks follows. The later history of the

Scythians is known very poorly.

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First Century AD

Romans come to the southern Crimea and establish their hegemony over some

parts of it. In the following centuries, waves of barbarians roll through the Ukrainian

territory, including the Goths and the Huns.

Fifth Century AD

Some evidence suggests that Kyiv may have been founded close to the end of

the fifth century (some historians are of the opinion that the foundation of Kyiv may

have occurred even earlier). More substantial evidence points to the formation of a

conglomerate of the Eastern Slavic tribes centred around Kyiv. By the end of the

ninth century Kyiv becomes the capital of a state that gradually expands over a vast

territory stretching up the Baltic Sea in the north and almost to the Volga in the east.

The dominant ethnic element in this state was Slavic but the areas further to the

north were inhabited by the Finno-Ugric tribes. A considerable role in the early

history of the Kyivan state, which came to be known as “Kyivan Rus”, was played

by the Vikings from Scandinavia.

AD 988

Grand Duke Volodymyr the Great converts Kyivan Rus to Christianity, with

Kyiv becoming a major religious and cultural centre in Eastern Europe.

Eleventh through Twelfth Centuries

“The Golden Age” of Kyivan Rus which becomes, after Byzantium, the biggest

and culturally most advanced state in Eastern Europe. The peak of Kyivan Rus

development is the reign of Yaroslav I after whose death a process of feudal

disintegration begins.

Thirteenth Century

Feudal strife leads to the formation of several principalities with Kyiv remaining

a nominal centre. When the Mongol invade Kyivan Rus the Slavic resistance to the

invasion is greatly weakened by the lack of any concerted action against the invader.

In 1240 Kyiv is besieged and captured by the Mongols. After the fall of Kyiv, the

Halytsko-Volynske principality becomes the political and cultural centre of Ukraine:

later, one of the rulers of this principality, Danylo, achieves the actual and formal

status of a king.

Fourteenth Century

The biggest part of Ukraine comes under the domination of the Great Duchy of

Lithuania. After the union of Poland and Lithuania, the Ukrainian autonomy is

limited still further.

Sixteenth Century

Zaporizhska Sich, a sort of a Cossack republic is formed by the end of the

century (its centre was in the area of the present-day city of Zaporizhzhya).

Gradually, Sich acquires enough military and political strength to start playing a role

in big-time politics.

Seventeenth Century

In a war of independence the Polish rule is overthrown in a part of Ukraine; the

country is ruled by hetman, and some of the principles upon which the state rests are

similar to those of the Dutch republic, or of the British state during the rule of Oliver

Cromwell. In 1654, Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky is forced by an unfavourable

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political situation to sign a union treaty with the Muscovite state.

Eighteenth Century

Early in the century, Hetman Mazepa, motivated by a growing concern about an

increasing interference of the Russian Empire in the Ukrainian affairs, makes moves

directed at establishing a greater autonomy or even complete independence of

Ukraine; he becomes an ally of the Swedish King Charles XII who invades Russia

with an excellently equipped and trained army. In the Battle of Poltava in 1709, the

Russian army defeats the Swedish-Ukrainian troops. By the end of the century,

Ukraine completely loses its autonomy and is divided between the Russian and

Austrian Empires.

Twentieth Century

In 1917, following the Revolution in Russia, Ukraine becomes autonomous and

a little later independent (November 1917 — the Ukrainian People’s Republic is

proclaimed; January 1918 — full independence is declared; western and eastern

Ukrainian lands are united in one state). This independence, which is upheld by the

national revival movement that began in the previous century, is short lived, and

Ukraine becomes an arena of a bloody civil war in which several forces, domestic

and foreign, vied for supremacy. The Bolshevik government that comes to power as

a result of a coup, pursues an aggressive policy against Ukraine. By 1920, the

Bolshevik forces are victorious, and two years later Ukraine is integrated into the

Soviet Union. The Stalinist economic and socialist policies result in a massive

disruption of agricultural production and Ukraine is hit by several famines, the most

disastrous of which is that of 1932-1933, when millions of Ukrainians die of

starvation.

1939 — in accordance with a secret protocol of the German-Soviet Non-

Aggression Pact of August 1939, the western Ukrainian land, which hitherto were

under the Polish rule, are reunited with the rest of Ukraine. In 1941, Nazi Germany

invades the Soviet Union and Ukraine once again finds itself among the countries

the hardest hit by the war. Ukrainian resistance both to the German and Soviet rule

begins in Western Ukraine: the Ukrainian Insurgent does not lay down its arms after

the defeat of Germany and continues fighting against the Soviet regime well into the

1950s.

1945 — the Soviet Ukraine becomes one of the UN founding states.

1986 — in April, a reactor explodes at the Chernobyl nuclear power station,

about a hundred miles from Kyiv: the explosion and radioactive fall-out result in the

worst man-made technological disaster of all times. Millions of people are affected

by the result of the Chernohyl disaster.

1991 – on 16 July, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopts the Declaration of

Ukrainian Sovereignty: the movement in support of independence gains momentum.

1991 — on 24 August, Ukraine is declared independent, following an abortive

coup in Moscow (the coup was an attempt to prevent a disintegration of the Soviet

Union). In December, a referendum is held and the absolute majority of the

Ukrainian population votes for independence. The first president is elected (Leonid

Kravchuk), and a slow process of building an economic, social and political

foundation of sovereignty begins: within several months, Ukrainian independence is

recognised worldwide.

1994 – in the second presidential elections, Leonid Kuchma gets more votes

than the incumbent president Kravchuk; in 1999, Leonid Kuchma is elected for the

second term in office.

1996 – on 28 June, Verkhovna Rada, after much debate, adopts the new

Constitution of Ukraine; on 2 September, hryvnya, the new national monetary unit,

is introduced.

2001 – the Roman Pope John Paul II visits Ukraine in June.

August 24, 2001 — Ukraine celebrates the 10th anniversary of its independence.

2002 — on 31 March, Parliamentary elections will be held.