Ukraine

A country of eastern Europe bordering on the Black Sea. Inhabited in early times by Scythians and Sarmatians, it was overrun by a number of conquerors, including Goths and Huns, until the rise of Kiev in the 9th century. The region came under the control of Lithuania in the mid-14th century and later passed to Poland and then to Russia (between 1680 and 1793). After the Russian Revolution an independent republic was proclaimed (1918), but Soviet troops retook control, and in 1922 it became one of the original constituent republics of the USSR, known as the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. During World War II the republic suffered severe devastation under German occupation and underwent many territorial changes. Ukraine gained its independence following the collapse of the USSR in 1991. Kiev is the capital and largest city. Population: 47,400,000.