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History of Ukraine (since 1921 till
putting into effect the Declaration of Independence in 1991)
Dozens of countries recognized the Ukrainian
Soviet Socialist Republic, which was proclaimed in 1921. The new Soviet
republic was a signatory of approximately 90 treaties and accords with
15 countries, participated in multilateral diplomatic conferences, and
enjoyed consular rights.
The majority of the population wanted the
new Ukrainian state to develop independently. But the deceptive promises
of the Bolshevik leaders that they would forge a union of equal nations
on the territory of the former Russian Empire only resulted in the drafting
of the Treaty of the Formation of the USSR, which was signed by the than
authorities of Ukraine, Byelorussia, the Trans-Caucasian Federation, and
the Russian Federation. Under pressure from the central Communist apparatus,
Ukraine was forced to surrender its right to conduct its own external foreign
relations as well as most of an independent state powers, to the Union
government. Ukrainian national consciousness was widely restricted by the
Communist Party.
The 1930s were a tragic period in the history
of Ukraine. The artificially created genocidal famine in Ukraine of 1932-1933,
news of which was deliberately suppressed by various Western governments,
resulted in the deaths of almost eight million Ukrainians living in rural
areas. The destruction of such a large segment of the Ukrainian nation,
whose biological potential was undermined for an entire century, was accompanied
by a ban on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the physical liquidation
of the Ukrainian intelligentsia.
But, as a constituent member of the USSR,
the Ukrainian republic, in accordance with the Soviet Constitution, still
formally enjoyed certain rights and features of a sovereign state: territory,
organs of state power and administration, budget, state emblem, flag, national
anthem, and Constitution.
In 1944, in accordance with a decision
of the Supreme Council of the USSR, the Union republics, including the
Ukrainian SSR, were granted the formal right to conduct foreign relations,
which permitted the Ukrainian SSR to became a founding member of the United
Nations in 1945.
Despite its dependence on Union decisions
and structures, the international status of Ukraine as a state in its own
right increased over the years. During the period of 1944-1990 Ukraine
was a signatory of 156 international treaties, was a member of 16 international
organizations, participated in the work of approximately 60 permanent and
interim international organs.
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