Jack's+European+Nation+Profile

=**__Ukraine __**= toc Ukraine is a very large country in Europe. It has a very rich history with many famous Ukrainian people born there. Its geography is interesting; it has mountains, plains, and forests. It is very big compared to other European countries. Ukraine does a lot of things for recreation too, including sports and other activities. Ukraine is a very interesting country for these reasons and for others.

History
Ukraine's history has been very active in its time. Ukraine was once known as "Kievan Rus" before the sixteenth century. In the early tenth century they reached the height of their power. In 1240, the Mongol Conquest ended the Kievan power. Between the thirteenth century and the sixteenth century Kievan Rus was under the power of Western Europe and Poland. After this, Kievan Rus became Ukraine. In 2006, the price to buy gas from Russia quadrupled. Ukraine got most of their gas from Russia so they were in big trouble. Soon after, they came to an agreement; Ukraine had to pay only double the regular price for gas. Ukrainians still weren't happy, but it was better than 4 times the price for gas.

Ukraine had wanted an independent nation for a while. On August 24, 1991, they declared their independence. President Leonid Kravchuk was elected by the parliament in 1990. Bandera Stepan Andriyovych was the head of the Ukrainian Nationalists Organization in 1931. Sahaydachny Petro Kononovych was a Hetman of the Ukrainian register Cossacks. He fought against captivity and Catholic intrusion. Ukrainians may have long names, but they do a lot for their country. These are two famous Ukrainian citizens.

Geography
Ukraine is the second biggest country in Europe next to Russia. Ukraine is 233,032 square miles, a little smaller than Texas. About 18% of Ukraine's area is forest, and most of its area is rolling country. There are some mountainous places, but only on the Crimean Peninsula in Southern Ukraine. Some major rivers in Ukraine are the Dnipro River, Pivdennyy Buh river, Dnister Siversky Donets river, Desna river, and Dunay river. The Black Sea is on its southern border. This is what Ukraine’s geography is like.

Ukraine is one of the leaders in natural resource production in Europe, and in the world. Iron and other ore is found in Ukraine. Coal in Ukraine is found in Donbas. Oil is found in Dniprovsko-Donetskyy mostly, so is natural gas. Ukraine also has resources like mountain wax, graphite, and granite. Ukraine also produces a lot of salt. Fertile soil is found in Ukraine in farms all over. Soil covers almost 45% of the land there. These are some of the natural resources in Ukraine.

Recreation
Ukraine has a lot of sports and fun past times they do. Popular sports in Ukraine are volleyball, ping pong, hiking in the lush forests of Ukraine, badminton, and most famous sport, soccer. Ukraine has produced some very famous athletes like Terry Sawchuk, a hockey goalie who holds the NHL record for shutouts, and Yana Klochkova, a swimmer who won 2 gold medals in the 2000 Olympics, and 4 golds total. The most famous Ukrainian soccer player is a man by the name of Andriy Shevchenko. He played for AC Milan, but now plays for Chelsea in the Barclays English Premier League. He also plays for the Ukrainian National soccer team. He doesn't play much anymore, but he had a great career, and played in the World Cup in 2006. Ukraine has given plenty of athletes to the sports industry, there was a few of them.

Other than sports, Ukraine likes other things too. Ukrainians love to sing and listen to music. They perform in groups or choruses. Chess is a very popular past time activity in Ukraine too. Some famous chess players from Ukraine are Ruslan Panomarior, who was the youngest world champion in chess history at only age 18, and Vasyl Ivanchuk, who was ranked second in the whole world as of October in 2007. These are some things besides sports that Ukrainians like. 

References


//Bilocerkowycz, Jaroslaw. "Ukraine."// World Book//. 2004 ed. 2004. Print.//

//Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.// Government Portal. //"Famous Public and Statesmen." Web. 22 Mar. 2011. [|Http://www.kmu.gov.ua/kmu/control/en/publish/article?showHidden=1&art_id=6249350&cat_id=32672&ctime=1084461347756].//

//Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies."Ieu's Featured Topics Concerning The People Of Ukraine And Ukrainians Abroad."// Encyclopediaofukraine. //Web. 22 Mar. 2011. [].//

//Hlynka, Dr. Myron. "Http://www.quebec-ukraine.com/famous-ukrainians/ukfam.html#anchor1." //Famous Ukrainians List//. Web. 22 Mar. 2011. [].

//State Committee of Statistics. "Ukraine."// Infoplease.com//. Pearson Education, Inc. Web. 22 Mar. 2011. [].