Country name: Ukraine (UKRAINE, УКРАИНА)

Flag: rectangular, consisting of two parallel and equal horizontal rectangles with upper blue and lower yellow. The ratio of length to width is 3:2 . Ukraine established the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1917 and became a member of the former Soviet Union in 1922. In 1952, it adopted a flag with a five-pointed star, sickle, and hammer similar to the flag of the former Soviet Union. The red flag has a wide blue border on the lower part of the flag. It declared independence in 1991 and restored the blue and yellow flags of Ukraine's independence in 1992 as the national flag.

National emblem: a shield. The golden trident on the blue shield is the main body of the national emblem. It is the symbol of the Kiev state in the era of Grand Prince Vladimir. It symbolizes the long history of the Ukrainian nation and the continuity of its development. It is also a symbol of the revival of Ukrainian national concepts and the struggle for national independence. war sign.

Capital: Kiev (kyiv). On November 23, 1995, the Ukrainian Legal Terminology Committee decided to change the Latin spelling of the capital from "kiev" to "kyiv". Population: 2.626 million (December 31, 2002).

Important holidays: Unity Day: January 22, commemorating the merger of East and West Ukraine; Orthodox Christmas: January 7; Victory Day: May 9 (celebrating the victory over German fascism in World War II and the end of the war in Europe); Constitution Day: June 28 (commemorating the first constitution formulated after independence in 1996); Independence Day (National Day): August 24; Kiev Liberation Day: November 3 (1943); Ukrainian Rocketry and Artillery Day: November 3 (1997)

National dignitary: President Viktor Yushchenko, sworn in in January 2005, 2 of the same year Served for months; Chairman of the Supreme Soviet Vladimir Litvin (Vladimir Litvin), elected in May 2002; Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich (Viktor Yanukovich) took office in August 2006.

Population: 47.1 million (as of June 2005). Ukraine is a multi-ethnic country with more than 110 ethnic groups. The main ethnic groups are Ukrainians (about 70%), and the others are Russians, Jews, Belarusians, Moldovans, Poles and Bulgarians. The official language is Ukrainian and Russian is commonly spoken. The main religions are Orthodox Christianity and Catholicism.

Physical geography: It covers an area of ​​603,700 square kilometers (accounting for 2.7% of the area of ​​the former Soviet Union), 1,300 kilometers long from east to west, and 900 kilometers long from north to south. It is located in eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea and the Sea of ​​Azov. . It borders Belarus to the north, Russia to the northeast, Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west, and Romania and Moldova to the south. Most of the area belongs to the Eastern European plains. Govirla Mountain in the western Carpathian Mountains is the highest peak with an altitude of 2061 meters; in the south there is the Roman-Kosh Mountain in the Crimean Mountains. The northeast is part of the Central Russian Highlands, and the southeast includes the coastal hills of the Sea of ​​Azov and the Donets Ridge. There are 116 rivers with a length of more than 100 kilometers in the territory. The longest one is the Dnieper River, which flows through Ukraine for 981 kilometers. Others include the South Bug River, the Dniester River, the North Donets River, the Prut River, the Danube River (estuary part), etc. There are more than 3,000 natural lakes in the territory, mainly including Yalpug Lake, Susak Lake, Kagur Lake and Alibey Lake. Affected by the Atlantic warm and humid air currents, most areas have a temperate continental climate, and the southern part of the Crimean Peninsula has a subtropical climate. The average temperature in January is -7.4℃, and the average temperature in July is 19.6℃. The annual precipitation is 300 mm in the southeast and 600-700 mm in the northwest, mostly concentrated in June and July.

Sculptures on the streets of Kiev

Brief history: Ukraine has an important geographical location and good natural conditions. Historically, it has been a battleground for military strategists, and Wu therefore suffered from wars. The Ukrainian nation is a branch of the ancient Rus' nation. The word "Ukraine" first appeared in "Russian Chronicles" (1187). From the 9th to the 12th century AD, most of what is now Ukraine was incorporated into Kievan Rus. From 1237 to 1241, the Mongolian Golden Horde (Batu) conquered Kiev in a western expedition, and the city was destroyed. In the 14th century it came under the rule of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Poland. The Ukrainian nation was generally formed in the 15th century. In 1654, Eastern Ukraine was annexed to Russia, and Western Ukraine gained autonomy within Russia. In the 1790s, Western Ukraine was also annexed to Russia. On December 12, 1917, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was established. During the period of foreign armed intervention from 1918 to 1920, Western Ukraine was occupied by Polish White Bandits. In 1922, when the Soviet Union was established, Eastern Ukraine joined the Union and became one of the founding countries of the Soviet Union. In November 1939, Western Ukraine merged with the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. In August 1940, Northern Bukovina and part of Bessarabia were annexed to Ukraine. In 1941, Ukraine was occupied by German fascists. In October 1944, all of Ukraine was liberated. In October 1945, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic joined the United Nations together with the Soviet Union as a non-independent country.

On July 16, 1990, the Supreme Soviet of Ukraine adopted the "Declaration of National Sovereignty of Ukraine", declaring that the Ukrainian constitution and laws are higher than the laws of the Union; and that it has the right to establish its own armed forces. On August 24, 1991, Ukraine broke away from the Soviet Union, declared independence, and changed its name to Ukraine. A new constitution was adopted in 1996. Chernobyl nuclear accident

"Garden City" - open-air cafes surrounded by flowers and

green plants on the streets of Kiev.

Administrative divisions: The country is divided into 24 states, 1 autonomous country, 2 municipalities, and 27 administrative divisions. The details are as follows: Crimean Autonomous Republic, Kiev Oblast, Vinnytsia Oblast, Volyn Oblast, Dnipropodrovsk Oblast, Donetsk Oblast, Zhytomyr Oblast, Zaikataya Oblast Erpathia, Zaporizhia, Ivan-Frankivsk, Kirovgrad, Luhansk, Lviv, Nikolaev, Odessa, Poland Altava Oblast, Rivne Oblast, Sumi Oblast, Ternopil Oblast, Kharkiv Oblast, Kherson Oblast, Khmelnytsky Oblast, Cherkasy Oblast, Chernivtsi Oblast Oblast, Chernyko, Oblast, Kiev Municipality, Sevastopol Municipality.

Politics: On June 28, 1996, the Uzbek Parliament passed the first constitution after independence, confirming that Uzbekistan is a sovereign, independent, and democratic country under the rule of law and implements the rule of law. The President is the supreme head of state representing the country; the Supreme Soviet is the legislative body; the Cabinet is the administrative agency responsible to the President. The Parliament is composed of 450 members, unicameral, and serves a term of 4 years. The amendment to the Ukrainian Constitution that officially came into effect on January 1, 2006 stipulates that the country implements a parliamentary presidential system. The majority of the parliament is responsible for forming the cabinet. The president has the right to nominate candidates for the foreign minister and defense minister. Other cabinet members are nominated by the prime minister and approved by the parliament. The Ukrainian Parliament passed the draft Cabinet Law on December 21, 2006. According to the Cabinet Law, the government is the country's highest executive authority and is responsible for managing state-owned assets and formulating national budget reports. The candidate for Prime Minister of the Government is nominated by the President based on the recommendation of the majority of the Parliament and appointed by the Parliament. If the president does not nominate a candidate for prime minister to the parliament within the statutory period, the parliament will appoint the prime minister based on the nomination of the majority. The Ukrainian parliament passed a package of bills including the Constitutional Amendment Act

The ancient Russian-style castle on the cliff by the Black Sea in Yalta

Economy: Ukraine's industry and agriculture are relatively developed. The main industrial sectors include metallurgy, machinery manufacturing, petroleum processing, shipbuilding, aerospace, aviation, etc. Rich in cereals and sugar, its economic strength ranked second in the former Soviet Union, and it was known as the "granary" in the former Soviet Union. The three economic zones along the Donets-Dnieper River, namely the Jingji District, the Southwest Economic Zone and the Southern Economic Zone, have relatively developed industry, agriculture, transportation and tourism. Coal, metallurgy, machinery, and chemical industries are the four pillars of its economy. It has forests, grasslands, and many rivers flowing through it, so it is rich in water resources. Forest coverage rate is 4.3%. It is rich in mineral resources, with 72 kinds of mineral resources, mainly coal, iron, manganese, nickel, titanium, mercury, lead, oil, natural gas, limestone, dolomite, graphite, refractory soil, mineral chemical raw materials, building materials, etc. Among them, iron ore reserves are 19.4 billion tons, accounting for 30% of the entire Soviet Union, and manganese ore accounts for 80%. The largest coal mine in the former Soviet Union is also in Ukraine. The reserves of manganese rank among the highest in the world, the reserves of anthracite and bituminous coal are 39 billion tons, and the reserves of lignite are 6 billion tons. The area of ​​black soil ranks first in the world, accounting for two-thirds of the country's land area. There are many kinds of animals, with more than 350 species of birds, about 100 species of mammals and more than 200 species of fish. There is a serious energy shortage. Natural gas alone needs to be imported 73 billion cubic meters per year. The total amount of imported energy is approximately US$8 billion each year, accounting for more than two-thirds of total exports. Russia is Ukraine's largest energy supplier. In recent years, Ukraine's foreign trade has accounted for about one-third of its GDP. It mainly exports ferrous metallurgical products, machinery and equipment, motors, fertilizers, iron ore, agricultural products, etc., and imports natural gas, petroleum, complete sets of equipment, chemical fiber, polyethylene, wood, medicine, etc.

The statue of Mother holding up a sword and shield on Mother Mountain in Kiev and the Soviet Patriotic War History Museum at its feet

Military: The Ukrainian Army was founded on August 24, 1991. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Ukraine inherited a large number of advanced weapons and equipment and strategic reserve materials from the former Soviet army. In 1992, Ukraine announced that it would pursue a non-nuclear, neutral and non-aligned policy, began large-scale disarmament, and destroyed all nuclear weapons with the help of Russia and the United States in accordance with the "Strategic Offensive Arms Reduction and Limitation Treaty" signed by the Soviet Union and the United States. As of July 2004, there were 355,000 Ukrainian armed forces, ranking 13th in the world in terms of numbers. However, the Ukrainian military's per capita expenditure ranked only 126th in the world. In order to improve the treatment of soldiers and improve the equipment level of the army, Ukraine decided to significantly reduce the number of troops.

News and Publishing: Except for National Television 1, which is funded by the government, all major television stations are joint-stock private television stations. The ones with greater influence are "International" and 1+1. The more influential newspapers: government organs: "Government Courier", "Worker" and parliamentary organs "Voice of Ukraine". The private comprehensive newspaper "Facts and Comments" won the 1998 Best Newspaper Award. "Daily Daily" and "Mirror" weekly magazines are more influential political commentary publications.

Diplomacy: Actively carry out bilateral diplomacy with European countries, participate in the European integration process, stabilize and strive to improve relations with Russia, and maintain a balance between East and West policies. In 2000, Ukrainian leaders announced that the core positioning of their diplomacy is "diversity, measurability, stability and maintaining non-bloc status." The three top priorities for diplomacy are: Europe, Russia and the United States. The three directions "not only give sufficient attention to each other, but also complement each other."

The dispute over the Kerch Strait between Russia and Ukraine, the dispute over natural gas prices between Russia and Ukraine, the love-hate relationship between Russia and Ukraine for three hundred years

Relationship with China: On December 27, 1991, China recognized the independence of Ukraine . On January 4, 1992, China and Ukraine established diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level.