Ukraine was the center of the first eastern Slavic state, Kyivan Rus, which during the 10th and 11th centuries was the largest and most powerful state in Europe. Weakened by internecine quarrels and Mongol invasions, Kyivan Rus was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and eventually into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The cultural and religious legacy of Kyivan Rus laid the foundation for Ukrainian nationalism through subsequent centuries. A new Ukrainian state, the Cossack Hetmanate, was established during the mid-17th century after an uprising against the Poles. Despite continuous Muscovite pressure, the Hetmanate managed to remain autonomous for well over 100 years. During the latter part of the 18th century, most Ukrainian ethnographic territory was absorbed by the Russian Empire. Following the collapse of czarist Russia in 1917, Ukraine was able to bring about a short-lived period of independence (1917-20), but was reconquered and forced to endure a brutal Soviet rule that engineered two artificial famines (1921-22 and 1932-33) in which over 8 million died. In World War II, German and Soviet armies were responsible for some 7 to 8 million more deaths. Although final independence for Ukraine was achieved in 1991 with the dissolution of the USSR, democracy remained elusive as the legacy of state control and endemic corruption stalled efforts at economic reform, privatization, and civil liberties. A peaceful mass protest "Orange Revolution" in the closing months of 2004 forced the authorities to overturn a rigged presidential election and to allow a new internationally monitored vote that swept into power a reformist slate under Viktor YUSHCHENKO. Subsequent internal squabbles in the YUSHCHENKO camp allowed his rival Viktor YANUKOVYCH to stage a comeback in parliamentary elections and become prime minister in August of 2006.

Eastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Poland, Romania, and Moldova in the west and Russia in the east

Total	Land	Water
603700 sq km	603700 sq km	0 sq km

Age structure

	0-14	15-64	65+
Percentage share (count, rate)	14% (male 3,334,428/female 3,163,378)	69.6% (male 15,465,544/female 16,769,495)	16.3% (male 2,564,512/female 5,002,505)

Sex rate

0-14	15-64	65+
1.054 male(s)/female 0-14	0.922 male(s)/female 15-64

Infant mortality

Total	Male	Female
9.5 total	11.75 deaths/1,000 live births male	7.11 deaths/1,000 live births female

Life expectancy

Total	Male	Female
67.88 years total	62.16 years male	73.96 years female

1.24 (2007) Leteracy (age 15 and over can read and write)

Total	Male	Female
99.4% total	99.7% male	99.2% female

Gross domestic product - Purchasing power parity: 364300000000.0 (2006)
Gross domestic product - Real growth rate: 7.1% (2006)
Gross domestic product - Per capita: 7800 (2006)
Unemployment rate: 2.7
Population below poverty line: 29

Internet - Country code: ua
Internet - Hosts: 234,349 (2007)
Internet - Users: 5545000.0 (2006)