ABSTRACT
Ukraine's evolution as an independent state has been heavily influenced by its geopolitical situation. Ukraine has the problem of how to deal with its gigantic neighbour to the east, on whom it is dependent for energy and a sizeable proportion of its trade, and the sheer size and location of Ukraine makes it attractive economically and in security terms for Western states. Even before independence, and under the influence of the emergence of a liberal opposition to the Soviet regime, increased labour militancy and the development of a nationalist movement, trade unions in Ukraine had begun to fragment. The strikes which affected Ukraine during 1992 and early 1993 were soon to be eclipsed by a strike wave in eastern Ukraine, which produced a genuine political crisis and hastened the democratic evolution of the Ukrainian state by provoking the holding of early elections both for the Verkhovna Rada and the presidency.
