The Chronicles Of Grant County
Ukraine
Short-Lived Independence
In Early 20th Century
Ukraine is one of the largest producers of wheat in the world. In 2020, Ukraine harvested 24,912,350 tons of wheat according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (The photograph was provided courtesy of Oleg Mityukhin through Pixabay, December 12, 2020.)
Ukraine has been recognized as an independent nation by approximately 180 countries worldwide since 1991. The United States extended diplomatic recognition of Ukraine in January of 1992; the Russian Federation did the same on Saint Valentine’s Day, 1992.
According to the “Protocol on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between Ukraine and the Russian Federation” provided by the Verkhovna Rada (the parliament) of Ukraine, on February 14, 1992, “Ukraine and the Russian Federation, Guided by the desire to develop their relations and confident that they will contribute to peace, security and stability in Europe, as well as to the goals and principles of the UN Charter, the Helsinki Final Act, the Paris Charter for a New Europe, and other CSCE documents…Desiring to strengthen the political, trade, economic and cultural ties between the two countries and to impart new qualities to them; seeking to enhance friendly relations between their citizens and peoples…agreed to establish diplomatic relations and exchange diplomatic missions at the Embassy level.”
For a short time during and after what we in the United States call World War I, Ukraine was also recognized by a few countries as an independent nation.
The independence of Ukraine was crushed by military and related actions by communists led by Lenin and the leaders of what would become the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Please note that some Ukrainians and Russians – as well as others who supported one side or the other – engaged in behavior that would likely be considered war crimes today. Pogroms against Jews were undertaken in Ukraine at this time.
Ukraine became a founding republic within the USSR in 1922.
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If you decide, you can view photos of some of the people that lived and died during this time period. These photographs may give some perspective on the views of the Ukrainians of today who recall what primarily Russians did to crush the independence of the nation approximately 100 years ago.
WARNING: Some of the photos of what happened in Ukraine in 1919 found in the following PDF are graphic. Only continue to the link if you understand that some of the photos provided through the Library of Congress show aspects of depravity and death.
This PDF document requires the following password to open it: GraphicUkraine
http://www.grantcountybeat.com/mypdfs/ukraine-attachment.pdf
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