ABSTRACT
Thrice before 1991, Ukraine was 1.\ more or Jess independent state: Kyivan Rus (9th to 14th centuries), a Cossack state (17th to 18th centuries), and Ukrainian National Republic ( 1917 to 1918). After an invasion, the Tatars divided Kyivan Rus between the Poles and the Lithuanians. The Cossack state was taken over by Muscovy and it underwent 'Russification'. Following the Russian revolution, Ukraine was independent until the communists gained control. In 1922, it became the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. After World War ll, parts of the Ukraine were given to Poland and Romania, while the Russian Crimea joined Ukraine. Ukraine gained its independence in 1991 and is now a parliamentary democracy that is oriented toward the Western world.
