Ukrainian SSR (TheodoresTomfooleries)
Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic | |
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Motto: "Пролетарі всіх країн, єднайтеся!" | |
Anthem: State Anthem of the Ukrainian SSR | |
Capital and largest city | Кiev |
Official languages | |
Recognised languages | Belarusian, Crimean Tatar, Hungarian, Moldovan/Romanian, Polish |
Ethnic groups (2019) | |
Religion (2022) |
|
Demonym(s) | Ukrainian |
Government | Unitary Marxist-Leninist one-party soviet socialist republic |
WIP | |
WIP | |
Legislature | Supreme Soviet |
( Union Republic of the Soviet Union (1922 - ) | |
Area | |
• Total | 603,700 km2 (233,100 sq mi) |
Population | |
• 2022 estimate | 58.683 million |
• 2019 census | 58,088,061 |
• Density | 96.22/km2 (249.2/sq mi) |
GDP (PPP) | estimate |
• Total | $1.112 trillion |
• Per capita | $19,152 |
GDP (nominal) | 2022 estimate |
• Total | $622.841 billion |
• Per capita | $10,722 |
Currency | Soviet Ruble (SUR) |
Date format | CE, mm dd yyyy |
Driving side | right |
Calling code | +7 |
ISO 3166 code | UA |
Internet TLD | .su |
Ukraine,[a] officially the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic,[b] is a constituent republic of the Soviet Union in Eastern Europe. It is the Soviet Union's third largest republic by land area and the second most populous. It shares a border with Moldavia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Romania to the west, Byelorussia to the north and is surrounded by Russia to the east and has a 2,700 kilometer long coastline on the Black Sea to the south. Its largest city and capital is Kiev, while other major cities include Kharkov, Dnepropetrovsk, Odessa and Donetsk.
Ukraine once formed a large part of the territory of the Kievan Rus', a medieval East Slavic principality with its center in Kiev. The Kievan Rus' was destroyed by the Mongol invasions in the 13th century. During this time, the territory of modern day Ukraine was divided between and contested over by various powers, most notably Poland-Lithuania, the Habsburg Empire and the Ottoman and Russian Empires. Russia, in particular with wars and partitions directed against Poland-Lithuania and the Ottoman Empire, conquered much of modern day Ukraine by the end of the 18th century. Ukrainian nationalism developed in the 19th century, with the idea of an independent Ukraine separate from Russia materializing in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution with the establishment of the Ukrainian People's Republic. The Bolsheviks secured control over Ukraine during the Russian Civil War and consequently established the modern day Ukrainian SSR. In 1922, Ukraine became a founding member of the Soviet Union.
During the Interwar period, Ukraine and much of the Pontic steppe experienced a famine, where in Ukraine it killed millions in particular. Ukraine's borders expanded westwards with the Soviet invasion of Poland and territorial concessions from Romania. Many of these newly acquired territories were home to a large Polish minority, and consequently many of its inhabitants were expelled. The German occupation further devastated Ukraine both economically and demographically. After World War II, Ukraine became a founding member of the United Nations along with Byelorussia.
Today, Ukraine is home to a large cosmopolitan population of Ukrainians, Russians and other peoples. Ukraine is amongst the country's largest republics by GDP and is among the largest economies in the world by GDP per purchasing parity. Ukraine is additionally one of the world's largest wheat and grain producers, and subsequently has been nicknamed the "Breadbasket of Europe" as a result.