Ukrainian SSR (TheodoresTomfooleries)

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Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic

Українська Радянська Соціалістична Республіка
Ukrajins'ka Radjans'ka Socialistyčna Respublika (Ukrainian)
Украинская Советская Социалистическая Республика
Ukrainskaja Sovetskaja Socialistčeskaja Respublika (Russian)
Motto: "Пролетарі всіх країн, єднайтеся!"
Location of Ukraine
Capital
and largest city
Кiev
Official languages
Recognised languagesBelarusian, Crimean Tatar, Hungarian, Moldovan/Romanian, Polish
Ethnic groups
(2019)
Religion
Secularism (de-jure)
State atheism (de-facto)
Demonym(s)Ukrainian
GovernmentUnitary Marxist-Leninist one-party soviet socialist republic
WIP
WIP
LegislatureSupreme Soviet
Union Republic of the Soviet Union (1922 - )
Area
• Total
603,700 km2 (233,100 sq mi)
Population
• 2019 census
58,088,061
• Density
96.22/km2 (249.2/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)estimate
• Total
Increase $1.112 trillion
• Per capita
Increase $19,152
GDP (nominal)2022 estimate
• Total
Increase $622.841 billion
• Per capita
Increase $10,722
CurrencySoviet Ruble (SUR)
Date formatCE, mm dd yyyy
Driving sideright
Calling code+7
Internet TLD.su

Ukraine (Ukrajina), officially the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (Ukrainian: Українська Радянська Соціалістична Республіка; tr. Ukrajins'ka Padjans'ka Socialistyčna Respublika) is a Union Republic of the Soviet Union. It is bordered by Byelorussia to the north, Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary to the west, Romania and Moldavia to the southwest, the Black Sea to the south, and Russia along its eastern border. Ukraine is the third largest and second most populous[1] republic, with a population of 58.08 million in the 2019 census. Ukraine is the largest republic with its territory entirely within Europe, and it contains the largest Russian diaspora outside of Russia, with 14.48 million people being labeled as Russian in the 2019 census.

Ukraine is commonly referred to as Europe's breadbasket, and it is one of the top exporters of wheat, grain and cereal in the world. Its borders contain a quarter of one of the world's most fertile soils (Chernozem) which makes up 68% of its entire land area. As a result, Ukraine is ideal for agricultural production and has consistently been one of the top producers regarding agriculture. Aside from its rich and fertile soil, Ukraine is in possession of the Crimean peninsula where the city of Sevastopol is located. Sevastopol is notable as one of the only warm deepwater ports in the Black Sea as well as the strategic headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet.

Ukraine's capital, [[Kiev (TheodoresTomfooleries)|Кiev], was the epicenter and capital of the Кyjivan Rus', the first East Slavic state in history. Under the Кyjivan Rus', Кyjiv was one of the largest cities in eastern Europe and among the richest in its hemisphere until the Mongol invasions razed the town and rendered it to a second-class provincial capital for much of its existence. Кyjiv's role as the center of Rus' culture was taken by Moscow in the 14th and 15th centuries. Ukraine's modern day territory was divided for most of its existence, ranging from the Ottoman Crimean Khanate in Crimea to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the west. After the Partitions of Poland most of the territory of modern day Ukraine fell under control of the Russian Empire, with the remainder falling into the borders of the Austrian Empire. The territory of Ukraine would be the site of a significant portion of the fighting of the Crimean War, which was a disaster for the Russian Empire and pushed the Tsarist government to make several key reforms including the abolition of serfdom. During the late 19th century, Kiev along with other cities in Ukraine industrialized, resulting in Kiev becoming a relevant (and significantly populated) city once more. The effects of World War I on the wider Russian Empire resulted in the overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment of an unstable democratic republic, from which Ukraine declared its autonomy and later its independence as a result of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in March 1918. Ukraine was the site of major fighting during the Russian Civil War, with the Ukrainian People's Republic, Ukrainian SSR and the Makhnovshchina all fighting amongst each-other. The Russian Civil War resulted in a Bolshevik victory and in 1922 Ukraine became a founding member of the Soviet Union.

The capital was moved from Kiev to Kharkov from 1919 to 1934, Ukraine during the interwar period was a turbulent place, however its vast amounts of fertile soil allowed for the Soviet government to industrialize rapidly using the profis from the wheat exports. Ukraine was particularly hard hit by the Soviet famines in the 1930s, known in Ukraine as the Holodomor. In 1934, Кyjiv became the capital of Ukraine again, and Ukraine began to recover from the effects of the Holodomor throughout the 1930s. In 1939, with the Soviet invasion of Poland, Ukraine's territory was expanded westwards; the boundaries agreed upon by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union have remained almost entirely unchanged, with only minor changes based on the Curzon Line. The annexation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina from Romania in 1940 resulted in the Moldavian ASSR becoming a constituent republic of the Soviet Union as the Moldavian SSR.

The Great Patriotic War and Operation Barbarossa saw Ukraine fall under Nazi occupation, with most of the territory falling under the administration of the Reichskommissariat Ukraine. Ukraine's infrastructure and industry were devastated by both Soviet scorched earth tactics and the Nazis wish to "annihilate" both the peoples and the landscape of Ukraine. It is estimated that during the German-Soviet war, 16.3% of Ukraine's population perished. Ukrainians made up a significant portion of the Red Army throughout World War II, it is estimated that anywhere between 6 million to 7 million Ukrainians served throughout World War II. After the war ended, Ukraine laid in ruins, with only 544 industrial enterprises being evacuated compared to 16,150 enterprises lost in total. Ukraine recovered after the war, however- and emerged as a founding member of the United Nations due to a compromise between the Soviet Union and the United States. Crimea was transferred from Russia to Ukraine in 1954. In the modern day, Ukraine is still among the most important and richest regions of the Soviet Union.