Ukraine Profile: from Kievan Rus to EU/NATO Association

 Kiev.Pechersk.Lavra.original.33070.jpg (2048×1356) (thousandwonders.net)

Kievan Rus

9th cent - Founding of Kievan Rus, the first major Eastern Slavonic state. 

10th cent - Rurik dynasty established, and the rule of Prince Vladimir the Great  heralds start of a golden age. 

11th century - Kievan Rus reaches its peak under Yaroslav the Wise.

Foreign Domination

1237-40 - Mongols invade the Rus principalities, destroying many cities and ending Kievan Rus's power. 

1349-1430 - Poland and later the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth gradually annex most of what is now western and northern Ukraine.

1441 - Crimean Khanate breaks free of the Golden Horde and conquers most of modern southern Ukraine.

1596 - Poland establishes Greek-Catholic Church, which comes to predominate in western Ukraine. The rest of Ukraine remains overwhelmingly Orthodox.

1648-1657- Cossack uprising against Polish rule establishes Hetmanate.

1654 - Treaty of Pereyaslavl begins process of transforming Hetmanate into a vassal of Russia.

1686 - Treaty of Eternal Peace between Russia and Poland ends 37 years of war with the Ottoman Empire.

1708-09 - Mazepa uprising attempts to free the eastern Hetmanate from Russian rule.

1764 - Russia abolishes the eastern Hetmanate and establishes the Little Russia governorate as a transitional entity until the full annexation of the territory in 1781.

Russian Rule

1772-1795 - Most of western Ukraine is absorbed into the Russian Empire through the partitions of Poland.

1783 - Russia takes over southern Ukraine through the annexation of the Crimean Khanate.

19th century - National cultural reawakening sees the development of Ukrainian literature/education. 

Soviet Power & WWII

1917 - Central Rada council set up in Kyiv following collapse of Russian Empire.

1921 - Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic established when Russian Red Army conquers two-thirds of Ukraine. Western third becomes part of Poland.

1939 - Western Ukraine is annexed by the Soviet Union under the terms of the Nazi-Soviet Pact.

1941 - Nazis occupy the country until 1944.

1954 - Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev transfers the Crimean peninsula to Ukraine.

Independence

1991 - Ukraine declares independence following attempted coup in Moscow.

1996 - New, democratic constitution adopted, and hryvnya currency introduced.

EU/NATO Association

2002 - Government announces decision to launch formal bid to join NATO.

2005 Viktor Yushchenko becomes president after winning December election re-run. 

2010 Viktor Yanukovych is declared winner of second round of presidential election. Parliament votes to abandon NATO membership aspirations.

2014 President Yanukovych flees to Russia, opposition takes over. Russian forces annex Crimea. Businessman Petro Poroshenko wins presidential election on pro-Western platform.

2017  Ukraine's association agreement with the EU is ratified.

2019 Comedian Volodymyr Zelensky wins presidential election run-off in a landslide victory over incumbent Petro Poroshenko.