Ukraine Missions
Missionaries Serving:
Clay and Darlene Quarterman
Capital
Kiev (2,645,000, 1994 est.)
System of Government
Multiparty Republic
Area
603,700 Sq Km (233,100 Sq Mi) (slightly smaller than Texas)
Estimated 2000 Population
51,736,000
Geography
Ukraine is located in Eastern Europe. It is bound by Belarus to the north, Russia to the north and east, the Black Sea to the south, Moldova and Romania to the southwest, and Poland, Hungary and Slovakia to the west. The land is a vast plain bound by the Black Sea to the south and the heavily forested Carpathian Mountains to the southwest. The Black Sea Lowlands are completely flat.
Climate
Ukraine has a continental climate with hot summers and long cold winters. Average temperatures are 18 degrees Fahrenheit in January to 90 degrees Fahrenheit in July.
People
The ethnic majority are the Ukrainians who account for 73% of the population, and 22% are Russians. Ethnic minorities include Tartars, Belarussians, Moldovans and Jews.
Vital Statistics Life Expectancy at Birth: 66.0 years male, 75.0 years female (1991). Infant Mortality Rate: 13.9 per 1,000 live births (1991). HIV/AIDS Adult Prevalence Rate: 0.96% (1999 est.)
Religions
Ukrainians are 85% Orthodox Christian, 10% Byzantine Catholic, 3% Protestant, and 1% Jewish. Under the Soviet Communist government, all religions were brutally suppressed. Ukraine has had religious freedom since 1990, and the church is enjoying spectacular growth.
History
Ukraine succumbed to the Mongol invasions of the 13th century, and was under the rule of a succession of foreign powers for centuries, including Poland and the Russian Empire. In 1918 a Bolshevik (Communist) government was established in Ukraine, and in 1922 the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was one of four founding republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). At the beginning of World War II, from 1939 to 1941, western Ukraine was occupied by the Soviet Union, which proceeded to impose totalitarian rule, including arrests, mass deportations, and executions. From 1941 to 1943, Nazi German troops occupied the country, and Adolf Hitler’s policies to exploit Ukraine were implemented with exceptional brutality. From 1943 to 1944, the Germans retreated, destroying everything possible, and the Soviet Union reimposed its control. Ukrainian nationalists, who briefly cooperated with Nazi Germany hoping to gain independence, were quickly disillusioned and forced into a suicidal battle with the German and Soviet armies. The human and material losses in the Ukraine were among the highest in Europe. During postwar reconstruction, Ukraine became more industrialized and urbanized. Because of Ukraine’s economic and political importance in the USSR, Soviet control was severe and dissent was repressed quickly, particularly in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Ukraine's declaration of independence in December 1991 was a major factor in the USSR's collapse later that month. The new government was slow to reform the staterun economy, which was plagued by rising inflation, and widespread unemployment.
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