Example research essay topic: Supreme Soviet Soviet Union - 2,011 words

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The Ukrainians considered themselves a nation even under the rule of the Soviet Union. This sense of nationalism in part led to the break up of the U. S. S. R.

Now the Ukraine is an independent state and their economy has been decimated. The Ukrainian central government is struggling and penniless, and for the most part, the Russian Mafias are now running the country (Jorgensen). The result of this being that for all intents and purposes the Ukraine has become feudalistic state. So heres the question, what exactly motivates the Ukrainians to keep their National identity? In an effort to explore the issue further let us proceed with a brief examination of the elements we are dealing with here. While nation-states are prevalent keep in mind that a nation is different then a state.

A state is a political community with a government. A nation-state is a state inhabited largely by citizens who identify themselves as members of the same nation. Ethnicity does not create a nation either, America for instance is a Nation comprised of many ethnicities. A National identity exists when a group of individuals identify themselves as a people. In some schools of thought to have a national identity qualifies as also having a nation, a nation is born when a national identity is forged. Another school of thought maintains the belief that only when certain conditions are met does this people actually form a nation until then they exist only as a minority or factional group.

Surely though without a national identity a nation does not exist (Hutchinson). Be that as it may, there are certainly factors that are at least related to having a nation. Whether these factors produce or are produced by a nation is not relevant to this discussion as long as it can be agreed upon that these factors contribute in a positive way to a nations continued existence. The factors I refer to include, territory, language, economy, a shared history, solidarity, and a common plight. Some nationalists also believe that, characteristics like behavior and shared roots, such as blood or cultural roots, are factors as well (Rusinow).

It is my belief that the best way to proceed is to take a look at some of those factors in Ukraine. So that we can answer the question of why Ukraine has remained a nation, and also so we can come to some kind of conclusions as to whether or not we can believe that it will continue to do so. First off lets take a look at the shared history factor for the Ukrainians. The early history of Ukraine is also an important chapter in the history of Russia. Kyyiv was the center of the Rus principality in the 11 th and 12 th centuries AD, and it is still known as the Mother of Russian Cities. In the 13 th century the area was invaded by Tatar-Mongols and was annexed by Poland in the 14 th century.

At about the same time Kyyiv and the Ukrainian principality of Volhynia were conquered by Lithuania and later came, with the latter country, into the possession of Poland. Poland, however, could not subjugate the Ukrainian Cossacks, who allied themselves with Russia. The lands east of the Dnepr River were ceded to Russia in 1667 (some parts of Ukraine had been annexed by Muscovy much earlier), and the remainder of Ukraine, except for Galicia (part of the Austrian Empire; 1772 - 1919), was incorporated into the Russian Empire after the second partition of Poland in 1793 (Ukraine). The Ukrainians under Austrian rule in Galicia and Bukovina and in the region of Hungary known as the Car patho-Ukraine preserved their identity as a separate group and engendered a forceful nationalist movement; in 1917, the Ukrainians in Russia established an independent republic following the Bolshevik Revolution. Austrian Ukraine proclaimed itself a republic in 1918 and was federated with its Russian counterpart; the Allies took little cognizance of Ukrainian claims for Galicia, however, and following World War I (1914 - 18) awarded that area to Poland. In 1919 the Russian Ukrainian republic declared war on Poland.

In the same year Ukrainian Communists established a second government and declared the existence of the Ukrainian SSR. In 1920 the advance of the Russian Bolshevik armies caused the Petlyura government and Poland to become allies; they were too weak, however, to prevent the Soviet government from assuming control of the country. In 1922 Communist Ukrainian delegates joined in the formation of the USSR (u alberta). In the period between 1922 and 1939 drastic efforts were made by the USSR to suppress Ukrainian nationalism. Ukraine suffered terribly from the forced collectivization of agriculture and the expropriation of foodstuffs from the countryside; the result was the famine of 1932 - 33, when more than seven million people died (Ukraine). Following the Soviet seizure of eastern Poland in September 1939, Polish Galicia, comprising nearly 62, 160 sq km (24, 000 sq mi), was incorporated into the Ukrainian SSR.

When the Germans invaded Ukraine in 1941 during World War II (1939 - 45), Ukrainian nationalists hoped that an autonomous or independent Ukrainian republic would be set up under German protection. Much to their disappointment, the Germans not only divided Russian Ukraine and West Ukraine (Galicia) but also came as hostile conquerors. Ukraine was retaken by the USSR in 1944. In the same year parts of Bessarabia and northern Bukovina were added to it, and the Ruthenian region of Czechoslovakia was added in 1945. The Ukrainian SSR became a charter member of the United Nations in 1945. The Crimean region in Russia was added to Ukraine in 1954.

Communism in the USSR collapsed in 1991. At the end of 1991, the USSR ceased to exist, and Ukraine became an independent republic (Ukraine). After independence, political tension developed in Ukraine over several domestic and international issues. Crimea, which was part of Russia until 1954, became a source of contention between Moscow and Kyyiv. Shortly after Ukrainian independence in 1991, a Russian-led movement to secede from Ukraine was formed in Crimea, which succeeded in changing the status of the Crimean oblast to an autonomous republic. Crimea also issued a declaration of independence, which was rescinded in May 1992.

In the same month, the Supreme Soviet of Russia declared the 1954 transfer of Crimea null and void. The Russian Supreme Soviet also laid claim to the Crimean port city of Sevastopol', the home port of the 350 -ship Black Sea Fleet, despite an agreement to divide the fleet, which was signed by President Kravchuk and Russian President Boris Yeltsin (1991 -) in August 1992. Conflict between Ukraine and Russia also developed over several other issues, including possession and transfer of nuclear weapons, delivery of Russian fuel to Ukraine, the division of Soviet assets, and military and political integration within the CIS (Ukraine). A second separatist movement developed in eastern Ukraine, where coal miners and other workers in eastern Ukraine went on strike in June 1993 to protest the poor state of the economy. A political crisis developed within the government over the pace of economic reform in 1993. In May 1993 Prime Minister Leonid Kuchma (1992 -) threatened to resign if he was not granted additional powers.

In response to the threat of resignation, President Kravchuk proposed that the Ukrainian parliament grant Kuchma additional executive powers. The parliament rejected Kuchma's resignation and most of Kravchuk's proposals, but they did grant Kravchuk the power to rule by decree on some economic issues (U alberta). The territory that comprises Ukraine has been under the control of foreign countries longer then it has ever existed has as an independent state. When is has been an independent country, their political power has for the most part been because of strong associations with another stronger country (Gray 353). The shared history of this country is one of many defeats and almost constant unrest. It is interesting to note that while they never were actually successful for very long as an independent state, they continued to strive for an autonomous Ukraine.

Time and time again they rebel or change sides in an effort to break away from whatever country they currently are occupied by and regain control again for themselves (U. C. C. A. 25). While their history is not exactly a glorious tale of the victories and accomplishments made by the great Ukrainian people, it is clearly a story of a nationalistic people who want to be recognized as an independent nation. In the case of the shared history factor it is doubtful that their sense of nationalism comes from the legacy of their great past.

Nonetheless, their shared history does play an interesting part in Ukrainian nationalism. The Ukrainians of today can certainly identify with this history. The struggle that seems to define this nation spans from its inception all the way to its present times. This very nicely also ties into another one of our what makes a nation factors namely the common plight. If we were to point at any one factor as key in understanding the national Ukrainian sentiment it would have to be this one. The poor conditions the people have undergone and the hardships they have faced are the historical plight of Ukraine.

The history of their plight to better their lives and to brake free from foreign oppression becomes a key rally point for Ukrainian nationalists (Armstrong 2 - 7). When it comes to our understanding of how people live on a day-to-day basis, in America, we are very aware another of our key factors namely economy. Economy has a profound effect on a culture and that cultures people. In American when our economy is strong people tend to be more contented with the government and less likely to vote against sitting government officials and their associated political party members (CNN). Economy is a key factor in assessing the stability of a country. When a country has a lot of unemployed males in the young adult age category, this leads to instability.

Another sign of instability is a high ratio of nonproductive members of a society to few active working members. Also when the general population no longer considers the legal currency to be a dependable means of exchange, this brings their governments influence (as well as its relevance) into question. When this happens a governments ability to have any meaningful effect on its countrys problems weakens substantially and the extent to which that government can control or affect the people it would seek to govern is greatly stricken (CIA). Basically the point is when an Economy is strong things are well and good, the people are generally contented and the nation remains stable. Vice versa when an Economy is not strong, things are bad for the people and the nation becomes unstable. So then, is the economy in Ukraine stable?

Simply put, no. Some statistics. When Ukraine declared its independence in 1991 they were twenty-six percent index. 1996 the country was forty-four percent index. That means in five years the countrys debt increased by eighteen percent. The inflation rate of Ukraine in 1992 was hitting thirty percent monthly (Shoemaker 124 - 129) and was estimated to have taken six years to drop to twenty percent by 1998.

In Ukraine no less then fifty percent of the population lives below the poverty line (CIA). This is the official report released by the CIA on the current state of Ukraine's economy. Economy-overview: After Russia, the Ukrainian republic was far and away the most important economic component of the former Soviet Union, producing about four times the output of the next-ranking republic. Its fertile black soil generated more than one-fourth of Soviet agricultural output, and its farms provided substantial quantities of meat, milk, grain, and vegetables to other republics. Likewise, its diversified heavy industry supplied equipment and raw materials to industrial and mining sites in other regions of the former USSR. Ukraine depends on imports of energy, especially natural gas.

Shortly after the implosion of the USSR in December...

Research essay sample on Supreme Soviet Soviet Union