| |
|
|
| |
Home
>
World
> Europe
> Ukraine
|
History and Government
History: Ukraine first came under Russian suzerainty in the 1650s, as an alternative to invasion by the Poles. Although part of Ukraine was annexed by Poland shortly afterwards, the whole of Ukraine was taken over by Russia after the partition of Poland at the end of the 18th century. When the empire of the Tsar collapsed in 1917, Bolshevik forces consolidated their control over Ukraine and the republic was incorporated into the Soviet Union. However, Ukraine became the scene for much of the key fighting during the civil war of the early 1920s and the Soviets subsequently lost some Ukrainian land to Poland, Czechoslovakia and Romania.
These lands were recovered after the Soviet victory in World War II, along with the Crimea, which was also attached to Ukraine and is now the subject of an ongoing dispute between Ukraine and the Russian Federation. In the Gorbachev era, Ukrainian politics were substantially affected by the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in northern Ukraine in 1986. The secretive and parsimonious behaviour of the authorities gave a boost to nascent opposition movements in the republic, particularly the Ukrainian People’s Movement for Restructuring, known as Rukh. Elections to the Supreme Soviet in March 1990 gave around one-third of the 450 seats to opposition groups, with the remainder taken by the Communist Party.
Under pressure from the opposition – Rukh in particular – the government gradually moved towards sovereignty and independence. In March 1991, a referendum was held at which the independence option attracted 80 per cent support. The failed Moscow coup of August 1991 spelt the end for the USSR; shortly afterwards the Ukrainian Supreme Soviet made a declaration of full independence. Among the new political parties that emerged around this time was the Ukraine National Movement, under the leadership of Leonid Kravchuk. Kravchuk’s record as a politician on the reformist wing of the Communist Party was sufficiently impressive for him to defeat the Rukh candidate, Vyacheslav Chornovil, to win the presidential poll held in December 1991.
International recognition of the new state was easily forthcoming, assisted by the historical anomaly that gave Ukraine its own seat at the UN. (Belarus enjoys the same privilege). The future relationship between the Russian Federation and Ukraine was the greatest uncertainty in the dissolution of the USSR, primarily because of the presence of a significant proportion of strategic nuclear systems in Ukraine, the future distribution of which was, in theory, governed by the US-Soviet START treaty. In January 1994, Kravchuk signed an agreement with Presidents Clinton and Yeltsin, agreeing to the destruction and/or transfer to Russia of the country’s nuclear arsenal, in exchange for US$1 billion in compensation and security guarantees.
Domestic politics have been dominated by economic reform. While there was universal agreement over the necessity of economic reform, there were sharp disagreements over its pace and nature. This dispute forced the resignation of Ukraine’s first Prime Minister, Vladimir Fokin, in September 1992, followed by much of his cabinet. This marked the first appearance on the national stage of Leonid Kuchma, who replaced Fokin as premier at the head of a government that included members of Rukh and the New Ukraine Bloc. Although the Kuchma government fell after a year, Kuchma then set his sights on the presidency – at the next election, held in March 1994, Kuchma defeated the incumbent Kravchuk and has held the presidency ever since, becoming the dominant figure in Ukrainian politics in the process.
Under Kuchma, the balance of power between the three main political forces in the country – the presidency, the cabinet and the Supreme Council (parliament) – has been markedly shifted in favour of the presidency. His dominance has been assisted by the distribution of seats within the Supreme Council. The most recent poll in March 1998 returned the Communist Party as substantially the largest party, however, with just 25 per cent of the vote, far short of an overall majority; Rukh won just under ten per cent and 41 seats and participates in a multiparty administration made up of independents and reformists. The presidential election, which fell in November 1999, was far more clear-cut – Kuchma comfortably won a second term without the need for a run-off.
New Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko won huge popularity by tackling bread-and-butter issues such as salary arrears over the next two years. He also made progress in combating misadministration and widespread corruption. By the spring of 2001, the ‘oligarchs’ who control much of the Ukrainian economy and who are President Kuchma’s most important allies, had had enough of Yushchenko and successfully arranged the demise of his government. In May 2001, he was replaced by Anatoly Kinakh, who is described as a ‘business lobbyist’. Yushchenko gained a measure of revenge in March 2002, however, when his supporters became the largest single bloc in the newly-elected parliament.
Kuchma himself has been increasingly prone to autocratic and repressive behaviour and has come under growing domestic and international pressure. Ukraine’s foreign relations are dominated by the Russian Federation. Disputes that initially marred bilateral relations – such as the future of the former Soviet Black Sea fleet and of Ukraine’s nuclear arsenal – have, for the most part, been resolved. Since the accession of Vladimir Putin to the Kremlin, ever closer political and economic ties have developed between the two countries. Further afield, Ukraine has made steady progress in initiating and developing relations with the EU and also Latin American countries, such as Brazil and Argentina, which have sizeable Ukrainian exile communities. However, the policies of the Kuchma government have set this process back significantly. In December 2002, Ukraine’s failure to introduce adequate measures against money laundering put the country on an international blacklist. And Kuchma’s decision to sell a new radar system to Saddam Hussein’s Iraq has attracted the ire of the USA and Great Britain.
Government: Legislative power is in the hands of the 450-strong Verkhovna Rada (Supreme Council) of whom half are elected by proportional representation and half directly in single-seat constituencies. Executive power is held by the president, who is directly elected for a five-year term, assisted by the Council of Ministers, which controls the day-to-day operation of the government. The Prime Minister, who heads the Council of Ministers, is a presidential appointee.
Copyright © 2003 Columbus Publishing Ltd.
Terms and Conditions apply.
|
|
|
|
|
