1.
Viktor Yanukovych
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Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych is a Ukrainian politician who served as the fourth President of Ukraine from February 2010 until his removal from power in February 2014. He is currently in exile in Russia and wanted by Ukraine for high treason, Yanukovych served as the governor of Donetsk Oblast, a province in eastern Ukraine, from 1997 to 2002. He was Prime Minister of Ukraine from 21 November 2002 to 31 December 2004, Yanukovych first ran for president in 2004, he advanced to the runoff election, and initially defeated his opponent. However, the election was fraught with allegations of fraud and voter intimidation and this caused widespread citizen protests and Kievs Independence Square was occupied in what became known as the Orange Revolution. The Ukrainian Supreme Court nullified the election, and ordered a second runoff. Yanukovych lost this second election to Viktor Yushchenko. Yanukovych served as Prime Minister for a time from 4 August 2006 to 18 December 2007. Yanukovych was elected President in 2010, defeating Yulia Tymoshenko, November 2013 saw the beginning of a series of events that led to his ousting as President. Yanukovych rejected a pending EU association agreement, choosing instead to pursue a Russian loan bailout and this led to popular protests and the occupation of Kievs Independence Square, a series of events dubbed the Euromaidan by young pro-European Union Ukrainians. In January 2014, this developed into deadly clashes in Independence Square and in areas across Ukraine, as Ukrainian citizens confronted the Berkut. In February 2014, Ukraine appeared to be on the brink of civil war, on 21 February 2014, Yanukovych claimed that, after lengthy discussions, he had reached an agreement with the opposition. Later that day, however, he fled the capital for Kharkiv, travelling next to Crimea, on 22 February, the Ukrainian parliament voted to remove him from his post, on the grounds that he was unable to fulfill his duties. Parliament set 25 May as the date for the election to select his replacement. After his departure, Yanukovych conducted several press conferences, in one of these, he declared himself to remain the legitimate head of the Ukrainian state elected in a free vote by Ukrainian citizens. On the same day, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that he didnt know anything about this, on 18 June 2015, Yanukovych was officially deprived of the title of President of Ukraine by the Supreme Rada of Ukraine. Viktor Yanukovych was born in the village of Zhukovka near Yenakiieve in Donetsk Oblast, Ukrainian SSR and he endured a very hard childhood about which he has stated, My childhood was difficult and hungry. I grew up without my mother who died when I was two, I went around bare-footed on the streets. I had to fight for every day
2.
Soviet Union
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The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a socialist state in Eurasia that existed from 1922 to 1991. It was nominally a union of national republics, but its government. The Soviet Union had its roots in the October Revolution of 1917 and this established the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and started the Russian Civil War between the revolutionary Reds and the counter-revolutionary Whites. In 1922, the communists were victorious, forming the Soviet Union with the unification of the Russian, Transcaucasian, Ukrainian, following Lenins death in 1924, a collective leadership and a brief power struggle, Joseph Stalin came to power in the mid-1920s. Stalin suppressed all opposition to his rule, committed the state ideology to Marxism–Leninism. As a result, the country underwent a period of rapid industrialization and collectivization which laid the foundation for its victory in World War II and postwar dominance of Eastern Europe. Shortly before World War II, Stalin signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact agreeing to non-aggression with Nazi Germany, in June 1941, the Germans invaded the Soviet Union, opening the largest and bloodiest theater of war in history. Soviet war casualties accounted for the highest proportion of the conflict in the effort of acquiring the upper hand over Axis forces at battles such as Stalingrad. Soviet forces eventually captured Berlin in 1945, the territory overtaken by the Red Army became satellite states of the Eastern Bloc. The Cold War emerged by 1947 as the Soviet bloc confronted the Western states that united in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949. Following Stalins death in 1953, a period of political and economic liberalization, known as de-Stalinization and Khrushchevs Thaw, the country developed rapidly, as millions of peasants were moved into industrialized cities. The USSR took a lead in the Space Race with Sputnik 1, the first ever satellite, and Vostok 1. In the 1970s, there was a brief détente of relations with the United States, the war drained economic resources and was matched by an escalation of American military aid to Mujahideen fighters. In the mid-1980s, the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, sought to reform and liberalize the economy through his policies of glasnost. The goal was to preserve the Communist Party while reversing the economic stagnation, the Cold War ended during his tenure, and in 1989 Soviet satellite countries in Eastern Europe overthrew their respective communist regimes. This led to the rise of strong nationalist and separatist movements inside the USSR as well, in August 1991, a coup détat was attempted by Communist Party hardliners. It failed, with Russian President Boris Yeltsin playing a role in facing down the coup. On 25 December 1991, Gorbachev resigned and the twelve constituent republics emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union as independent post-Soviet states
3.
Russia
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Russia, also officially the Russian Federation, is a country in Eurasia. The European western part of the country is more populated and urbanised than the eastern. Russias capital Moscow is one of the largest cities in the world, other urban centers include Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod. Extending across the entirety of Northern Asia and much of Eastern Europe, Russia spans eleven time zones and incorporates a range of environments. It shares maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk, the East Slavs emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD. Founded and ruled by a Varangian warrior elite and their descendants, in 988 it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire, beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium. Rus ultimately disintegrated into a number of states, most of the Rus lands were overrun by the Mongol invasion. The Soviet Union played a role in the Allied victory in World War II. The Soviet era saw some of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century, including the worlds first human-made satellite and the launching of the first humans in space. By the end of 1990, the Soviet Union had the second largest economy, largest standing military in the world. It is governed as a federal semi-presidential republic, the Russian economy ranks as the twelfth largest by nominal GDP and sixth largest by purchasing power parity in 2015. Russias extensive mineral and energy resources are the largest such reserves in the world, making it one of the producers of oil. The country is one of the five recognized nuclear weapons states and possesses the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction, Russia is a great power as well as a regional power and has been characterised as a potential superpower. The name Russia is derived from Rus, a state populated mostly by the East Slavs. However, this name became more prominent in the later history, and the country typically was called by its inhabitants Русская Земля. In order to distinguish this state from other states derived from it, it is denoted as Kievan Rus by modern historiography, an old Latin version of the name Rus was Ruthenia, mostly applied to the western and southern regions of Rus that were adjacent to Catholic Europe. The current name of the country, Россия, comes from the Byzantine Greek designation of the Kievan Rus, the standard way to refer to citizens of Russia is Russians in English and rossiyane in Russian. There are two Russian words which are translated into English as Russians
4.
2014 Ukrainian revolution
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After the breakup of the Soviet Union, Ukraine endured years of corruption, mismanagement, lack of economic growth, currency devaluation, and problems to secure funding from public markets. Successive Ukrainian governments in the 2000s sought a relationship with the European Union. One of the measures meant to achieve this was an agreement with the European Union. President Yanukovych announced his intention to sign the agreement, but ultimately refused to do so at the last minute and this sparked a wave of protests called the Euromaidan movement. During these protests Yanukovych signed a treaty and multibillion-dollar loan with Russia, the Ukrainian security forces cracked down on the protesters, further inflaming the situation and resulting in a series of violent clashes in the streets of Kiev. As tensions rose, Yanukovych fled to Russia and did not return, Russia refused to recognize the new interim government, calling the revolution a coup détat, and began a military intervention in Ukraine. The International Monetary Fund pledged more than $18 billion in loans contingent on Ukraines adopting those reforms, a period of relative calm in the anti-government demonstrations in Kiev ended abruptly on 18 February 2014, when protesters and police clashed. At least 82 people were killed over the few days, including 13 policemen. The confrontation turned violent, the BBC, citing correspondents, reported that each side blamed the other, the police fired guns with both rubber bullets and, later, live ammunition, while also using tear gas and flash grenades in an attempt to repel thousands of demonstrators. The protesters fought with weapons, firearms, and improvised explosives. Police officers stormed the main protest camp on Maidan Nezalezhnosti and overran parts of the square, the Trade Unions Building, which served as the Euromaidan headquarters, was burned down. Political commentators suggested that Ukraine was on the brink of a civil war, some areas, including Lviv Oblast, declared themselves politically independent of the central government. On 19 February, the authorities instituted police checkpoints, restrictions on public transportation, and school closures in Kiev, on 20 February, Internal Affairs Minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko announced that he had signed a decree authorising the use of live ammunition against protesters. Central Kiev saw the worst violence yet, and the toll in 48 hours of clashes rose to at least 77. Parliament also suspended Zakharchenko from his duties, on 21 February, President Yanukovych signed a compromise deal with opposition leaders. It promised constitutional changes to certain powers to Parliament and called for early elections to be held by December. On 21 February, an impeachment bill was introduced in Parliament, on the same day, Yanukovych left for Kharkiv to attend a summit of southeastern regions, according to media reports. On 22 February, the protesters were reported to be in control of Kiev, the parliament, or Verkhovna Rada, voted 328–0 in favour of impeaching Yanukovych and scheduled new presidential elections for 25 May
5.
Verkhovna Rada
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The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the unicameral parliament of Ukraine. The Verkhovna Rada is composed of 450 deputies, who are presided over by a chairman, the Verkhovna Rada meets in the Verkhovna Rada building in Ukraines capital Kiev. The current parliament is the eighth convocation, in elections to the Verkhovna Rada, a mixed voting system is used. 50% of seats are distributed under party lists with a 5% election threshold, the method of 50/50 mixed elections was used in the 2002 and 2012 elections, however, in 2006 and 2007, the elections were held under a proportional system only. The name Rada means council, rede and it originated in Kievan Rus, and then represented a boyar and higher clergy council. It was also used by Dnieper Cossacks in the 17th and 18th centuries for the meetings where major decisions were made and this name was later used by the Ukrainian Peoples Republic between March 17,1917 and April 29,1918. As well as West Ukrainian Peoples Republic and the Ukrainian government in exile where it was known as UNRada, Verkhovna, is the feminine form of the adjective верховне meaning supreme. It is derived from the Ukrainian word верх meaning top, another name used less often is the Parliament of Ukraine. The All-Ukrainian Congress of Soviets had already renamed the Supreme Council in 1927. The Congress of Soviets was initiated by the Central Executive Committee of Ukraine, the last chairman of the committee was Hryhoriy Petrovsky. The first elections to the Supreme Council of the Ukrainian SSR took place on June 26,1938, the first session of the parliament took place in Kiev on July 25 through 28,1938. The first Chairman of the council was Mykhailo Burmystenko who later died during World War II, in 1938, a presidium of the council was created that was led by Leonid Korniyets. During the war the presidium was evacuated to the city of Saratov in the Russian SFSR, on June 29,1943, the presidium issued an order postponing elections for the new convocation for one year while extending the first convocation. On January 8,1944, the Cabinet of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR in agreement with the Communist Party decided to relocate the Presidium of the Supreme Council from Kharkiv to Kiev, new elections were scheduled for February 9,1947 for the Council. Until 24 August 1991 Verkhovna Rada kept the name Supreme Council of the Ukrainian SSR, the first partially free elections to the Verkhovna Rada and local councils of peoples deputies were held on 4 March 1990. m. At the time, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada was Leonid Kravchuk, the Act of Ukrainian Independence was overwhelmingly supported in a national referendum held on December 1,1991. On September 12,1991 the parliament adopted the law On Legal Succession of Ukraine, thus, the VR became the Supreme Council of Ukraine. The Constitution of Ukraine was adopted by the convocation of the Verkhovna Rada on June 28,1996
6.
Kramatorsk
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Kramatorsk is a city of oblast significance located at the northern portion of Donetsk Oblast, in eastern Ukraine. Since October 11,2014 Kramatorsk has been the seat of Donetsk Oblast. The city is located on the banks of the Kazennyi Torets River which is a tributary of the Siversky Donets. It is an important industrial and mechanical engineering centre in Ukraine, Kramatorsk and its city municipality is located between Sloviansk Raion and Kostiantynivka Raion and along with its centers is part of a major urban agglomeration in the region. Kramatorsk has a population of over 164,700 inhabitants and has an area of over 197,000 inhabitants. It was occupied by Nazi Germany between 27 October 1941 and 5 February 1943 and again between 27 February 1943 and 6 September 1943. Between 1980 and 1989, several people were exposed to a source in one of the apartment buildings, resulting in 6 deaths. On April 12, the station in Kramatorsk was seized by pro-Russian militants. This resulted in a standoff between the Ukrainian Armed Forces and pro-Russian militants. After months of fighting, the rebels withdrew and the city came under Ukrainian control since 5 July 2014, Kramatorsk became provisional centre of Donetsk Oblast in 13 October 2014. Kramatorsk has not stayed away from the international outsourcing trend prompted by the emergence of the society in Ukraine in the Post-Soviet years. An IT company QuartSoft Corp. was founded in Kramatorsk in 1999, now it has offices in the United States and Austria. New Kramatorsk Machninebuilding Plant,1934 - design and production of machines and equipment for mining, steel rolling, metallurgy, production and handling of cast iron, old Kramatorsk Machinebuilding Plant, In the 2000s, a wind turbine production facility was constructed in Kramatorsk. This is a joint venture between German Fuhrländer AG and its Ukrainian partners, according to their site, Fuhrländer became the first company in the renewable energy sector to obtain a building permit from the Ukrainian government. Forbes. com, Outsourcing Fuels Ukraines IT Boom Kramatorsk
7.
Ukraine
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Ukraine is currently in territorial dispute with Russia over the Crimean Peninsula which Russia annexed in 2014 but which Ukraine and most of the international community recognise as Ukrainian. Including Crimea, Ukraine has an area of 603,628 km2, making it the largest country entirely within Europe and it has a population of about 42.5 million, making it the 32nd most populous country in the world. The territory of modern Ukraine has been inhabited since 32,000 BC, during the Middle Ages, the area was a key centre of East Slavic culture, with the powerful state of Kievan Rus forming the basis of Ukrainian identity. Following its fragmentation in the 13th century, the territory was contested, ruled and divided by a variety of powers, including Lithuania, Poland, the Ottoman Empire, Austria-Hungary, and Russia. A Cossack republic emerged and prospered during the 17th and 18th centuries, two brief periods of independence occurred during the 20th century, once near the end of World War I and another during World War II. Before its independence, Ukraine was typically referred to in English as The Ukraine, following independence, Ukraine declared itself a neutral state. Nonetheless it formed a limited partnership with the Russian Federation and other CIS countries. In the 2000s, the government began leaning towards NATO, and it was later agreed that the question of joining NATO should be answered by a national referendum at some point in the future. Former President Viktor Yanukovych considered the current level of co-operation between Ukraine and NATO sufficient, and was against Ukraine joining NATO and these events formed the background for the annexation of Crimea by Russia in March 2014, and the War in Donbass in April 2014. On 1 January 2016, Ukraine applied the economic part of the Deep, Ukraine has long been a global breadbasket because of its extensive, fertile farmlands and is one of the worlds largest grain exporters. The diversified economy of Ukraine includes a heavy industry sector, particularly in aerospace. Ukraine is a republic under a semi-presidential system with separate powers, legislative, executive. Its capital and largest city is Kiev, taking into account reserves and paramilitary personnel, Ukraine maintains the second-largest military in Europe after that of Russia. Ukrainian is the language and its alphabet is Cyrillic. The dominant religion in the country is Eastern Orthodoxy, which has strongly influenced Ukrainian architecture, literature, there are different hypotheses as to the etymology of the name Ukraine. According to the older and most widespread hypothesis, it means borderland, while more recently some studies claim a different meaning, homeland or region. The Ukraine now implies disregard for the sovereignty, according to U. S. ambassador William Taylor. Neanderthal settlement in Ukraine is seen in the Molodova archaeological sites include a mammoth bone dwelling
8.
United Nations
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The United Nations is an intergovernmental organization to promote international co-operation. A replacement for the ineffective League of Nations, the organization was established on 24 October 1945 after World War II in order to prevent another such conflict, at its founding, the UN had 51 member states, there are now 193. The headquarters of the UN is in Manhattan, New York City, further main offices are situated in Geneva, Nairobi, and Vienna. The organization is financed by assessed and voluntary contributions from its member states, the UNs mission to preserve world peace was complicated in its early decades by the Cold War between the US and Soviet Union and their respective allies. The organization participated in actions in Korea and the Congo. After the end of the Cold War, the UN took on major military, the UN has six principal organs, the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Secretariat, the International Court of Justice, and the UN Trusteeship Council. UN System agencies include the World Bank Group, the World Health Organization, the World Food Programme, UNESCO, the UNs most prominent officer is the Secretary-General, an office held by Portuguese António Guterres since 2017. Non-governmental organizations may be granted consultative status with ECOSOC and other agencies to participate in the UNs work, the organization won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001, and a number of its officers and agencies have also been awarded the prize. Other evaluations of the UNs effectiveness have been mixed, some commentators believe the organization to be an important force for peace and human development, while others have called the organization ineffective, corrupt, or biased. Following the catastrophic loss of life in the First World War, the earliest concrete plan for a new world organization began under the aegis of the US State Department in 1939. It incorporated Soviet suggestions, but left no role for France, four Policemen was coined to refer to four major Allied countries, United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and China, which emerged in the Declaration by United Nations. Roosevelt first coined the term United Nations to describe the Allied countries, the term United Nations was first officially used when 26 governments signed this Declaration. One major change from the Atlantic Charter was the addition of a provision for religious freedom, by 1 March 1945,21 additional states had signed. Each Government pledges itself to cooperate with the Governments signatory hereto, the foregoing declaration may be adhered to by other nations which are, or which may be, rendering material assistance and contributions in the struggle for victory over Hitlerism. During the war, the United Nations became the term for the Allies. To join, countries had to sign the Declaration and declare war on the Axis, at the later meetings, Lord Halifax deputized for Mr. Eden, Wellington Koo for T. V. Soong, and Mr Gromyko for Mr. Molotov. The first meetings of the General Assembly, with 51 nations represented, the General Assembly selected New York City as the site for the headquarters of the UN, and the facility was completed in 1952. Its site—like UN headquarters buildings in Geneva, Vienna, and Nairobi—is designated as international territory, the Norwegian Foreign Minister, Trygve Lie, was elected as the first UN Secretary-General
9.
Council of Europe
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The Council of Europe is an international organisation focused on protecting human rights, democracy, rule of law in Europe and promoting European culture. Founded in 1949, it has 47 member states, covers approximately 820 million people, No country has ever joined the EU without first belonging to the Council of Europe. Unlike the EU, the Council of Europe cannot make binding laws, the best known body of the Council of Europe is the European Court of Human Rights, which enforces the European Convention on Human Rights. The Commissioner for Human Rights is an independent institution within the Council of Europe, mandated to promote awareness of, the Secretary General heads the secretariat of the organisation. Other major CoE bodies include the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines, the headquarters of the Council of Europe are in Strasbourg, France. English and French are its two official languages, the Committee of Ministers, the Parliamentary Assembly and the Congress also use German, Italian, Russian, and Turkish for some of their work. In a speech at the University of Zurich on 19 September 1946, Sir Winston Churchill called for a kind of United States of Europe and he had spoken of a Council of Europe as early as 1943 in a radio broadcast. There were two schools of thought competing, some favoured a classical international organisation with representatives of governments, both approaches were finally combined through the creation of the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly under the Statute of the Council of Europe. The Council of Europe was founded on 5 May 1949 by the Treaty of London and those conventions and decisions are developed by the member states working together at the Council of Europe. Both organizations function as concentric circles around the foundations for European co-operation and harmony. The European Union could be seen as the circle with a much higher level of integration through the transfer of powers from the national to the EU level. The Council of Europe and the European Union, different roles, Council of Europe conventions/treaties are also open for signature to non-member states, thus facilitating equal co-operation with countries outside Europe. The Convention created the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, the Court supervises compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights and thus functions as the highest European court. It is to court that Europeans can bring cases if they believe that a member country has violated their fundamental rights. The various activities and achievements of the Council of Europe can be found in detail on its official website, Promotion of the right to education under Article 2 of the first Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights and several conventions on the recognition of university studies and diplomas. Promotion of fair sport through the Anti-Doping Convention Promotion of European youth exchanges and co-operation through European Youth Centres in Strasbourg and Budapest, Promotion of the quality of medicines throughout Europe by the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines and its European Pharmacopoeia. The institutions of the Council of Europe are, The Secretary General, mr Thorbjørn Jagland, the former Prime Minister of Norway was elected Secretary General of the Council of Europe in September 2009. In June 2014, he was re-elected, and his term in office commenced on 1 October 2014
10.
Dnieper
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It is the longest river of Ukraine and Belarus and the fourth longest river in Europe. The total length ranges between 2,145 km and 2,201 km with a basin of 504,000 square kilometres. The river is noted for its dams and hydroelectric stations, the Dnieper is an important navigable waterway for the economy of Ukraine and is connected via the Dnieper–Bug Canal to other waterways in Europe. In antiquity, the river was known to the Greeks as the Borysthenes and was part of the Amber Road, Arheimar, a capital of the Goths, was located on the Dnieper, according to the Hervarar saga. The name Dnieper is derived from Sarmatian Dānu apara the river on the far side, according to V. Abaev the name Dnieper derives from Scythian Dānu apr deep river, while the name Dniester is combination of Scythian Dānu and Thracian Ister, the old name of Dniester. In the three countries through which it flows it has essentially the name, albeit pronounced differently, Russian, Днепр, Belarusian, Дняпро or Днепр, Ukrainian. The late Greek and Roman authors called it Δάναπρις - Danapris and Danaper respectively - and its Old East Slavic name used at the time of Kievan Rus was Slavuta or Slavutych, the Huns called it Var, and Bulgars - Buri-Chai. The name in Crimean Tatar, Özü, the total length of the river is 2,145 kilometres, of which 485 km are within Russia,700 km are within Belarus, and 1,095 km are within Ukraine. Its basin covers 504,000 square kilometres, of which 289,000 km2 are within Ukraine,118,360 km2 are within Belarus, the source of the Dnieper is the sedge bogs of the Valdai Hills in central Russia, at an elevation of 220 m. For 115 km of its length, it serves as the border between Belarus and Ukraine and its estuary, or liman, used to be defended by the strong fortress of Ochakiv. On the Dnepr River to the south of Komarin urban-type settlement, Braghin District, the Dnieper has many tributaries with 89 being rivers of 100+ km. The water resources of the Dnieper basin compose around 80% out of all Ukraine, Dnieper Rapids were part of trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks, first mentioned in the Kiev Chronicle. The route was established in the late eighth and early ninth centuries. On the Dnieper the Varangians had to portage their ships round seven rapids, after Dnieper Hydroelectric Station was built in 1932, they were inundated by Dnieper Reservoir. The river is part of the Quagga mussels native range, the mussel has been accidentally introduced around the world where it has become an invasive species. From the mouth of the Prypiat River to the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Station, there are six sets of dams and hydroelectric stations, the first constructed was the Dnieper Hydroelectric Station near Zaporizhia, built in 1927–1932 with an output of 558 MW. It was destroyed during World War II, but was rebuilt in 1948 with an output of 750 MW, the Dnieper River in different regions Major cities, over 100,000 in population, are in bold script. Cities and towns located on the Dnieper are listed in order from the source to its mouth, Arheimar
11.
European Union
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The European Union is a political and economic union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe. It has an area of 4,475,757 km2, the EU has developed an internal single market through a standardised system of laws that apply in all member states. Within the Schengen Area, passport controls have been abolished, a monetary union was established in 1999 and came into full force in 2002, and is composed of 19 EU member states which use the euro currency. The EU operates through a system of supranational and intergovernmental decision-making. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community, the community and its successors have grown in size by the accession of new member states and in power by the addition of policy areas to its remit. While no member state has left the EU or its antecedent organisations, the Maastricht Treaty established the European Union in 1993 and introduced European citizenship. The latest major amendment to the basis of the EU. The EU as a whole is the largest economy in the world, additionally,27 out of 28 EU countries have a very high Human Development Index, according to the United Nations Development Programme. In 2012, the EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, through the Common Foreign and Security Policy, the EU has developed a role in external relations and defence. The union maintains permanent diplomatic missions throughout the world and represents itself at the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the G7, because of its global influence, the European Union has been described as an emerging superpower. After World War II, European integration was seen as an antidote to the nationalism which had devastated the continent. 1952 saw the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community, the supporters of the Community included Alcide De Gasperi, Jean Monnet, Robert Schuman, and Paul-Henri Spaak. These men and others are credited as the Founding fathers of the European Union. In 1957, Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany signed the Treaty of Rome and they also signed another pact creating the European Atomic Energy Community for co-operation in developing nuclear energy. Both treaties came into force in 1958, the EEC and Euratom were created separately from the ECSC, although they shared the same courts and the Common Assembly. The EEC was headed by Walter Hallstein and Euratom was headed by Louis Armand, Euratom was to integrate sectors in nuclear energy while the EEC would develop a customs union among members. During the 1960s, tensions began to show, with France seeking to limit supranational power, Jean Rey presided over the first merged Commission. In 1973, the Communities enlarged to include Denmark, Ireland, Norway had negotiated to join at the same time, but Norwegian voters rejected membership in a referendum
12.
Zaporizhia
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Zaporizhia, or Zaporozhye is a city in southeastern Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper River. It is the center of the Zaporizhia Oblast. Administratively, it is incorporated as a city of oblast significance and serves as a center of Zaporizhia Raion. Currently the city is the sixth largest in Ukraine, until 1921 the city carried the name of Aleksandrovsk after the name of a fortress that was part of the Dnieper Defense Line. Archaeological finds in the area suggest that Scythian nomads were living there two to three years ago. The Scythians were replaced in time by Khazars, Pechenegs, Cumans, Tatars, the trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks passed through Khortysia island in old times. In 1552 Dmytro Vyshnevetsky erected wood-earth fortifications on the island Mala Khortytsia in the Dnieper River near the island Khortytsia and these fortifications were a prototype of the Zaporizhian Sich. The Sich was a stronghold of the Cossacks who lived south of the rapids of the Dnieper on the border of the Polish–Lithuanian Rzeczpospolita, the modern city was established in 1770 as the fortress of Aleksandrovskaya in a vicinity the old Ukrainian village Voznesenka that existed since at least 1596. It is uncertain for whom the fortress was named some consider General Aleksander Golitsyn, the fortress was designed to protect the southern territories from Turkish threats as part of the Dnieper Defense Line. After the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Empire in 1783, in 1806, it became a town and was named Aleksandrovsk. In 1789, Mennonites from Prussia accepted an invitation from Catherine the Great, the colony included several rural settlements. Mennonite-owned mills and factories were built in Alexandrovsk and later expropriated by the Communist government, after the Russian Revolution many Mennonites emigrated, fled as refugees, or were deported from the area. Currently few Mennonites live in Zaporizhia, Mennonite buildings still exist in the area and in the other main Mennonite colony center, current day Molochansk. The ferry closed when the Kichkas Bridge replaced it in 1904, the original railway bridge over the Dnieper was the Kichkas Bridge, which was designed by Y. D. Construction was supervised by F. W. Lat, the bridge had a span of 336 m, and crossed the river with single arch of 190 m span. The upper tier carried a railway line, whilst the lower tier was a road bridge with pedestrian walkways either side of the bridge. It was built at the narrowest part of the Dnieper river known as Wolf Throat, construction started in 1900, and it opened for pedestrian traffic in 1902. The official opening of the bridge was 17 April 1904, though railway traffic on the bridge commenced on 22 January 1908
Russia[3]
