History of Ukraine: 400 Years of Wars & Major Political Upheavals

1600s – Early Cossack Statehood

 

  • 1648–1657: Khmelnytsky Uprising — The Cossacks under Bohdan Khmelnytsky revolt against the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, founding the Cossack Hetmanate.

  • 1654: Treaty of Pereyaslav — Alliance with Moscow; over time this leads to increasing Russian influence.

  • Continued division: western lands under Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, eastern under growing Tsardom of Russia.

 

In the 1600s, Ukraine was squeezed between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Muscovy. In 1648, Bohdan Khmelnytsky led a revolt against Polish rule, creating the **Cossack Hetmanate**. To survive, he allied with Moscow in the **Treaty of Pereyaslav (1654)**—a decision that gradually pulled Ukraine under Russian control. By century’s end, Ukraine was divided: Poland ruled the west, Moscow the east.

 

 

1700s – Loss of Autonomy

 

  • 1708–1709: Mazepa’s Rebellion — Hetman Ivan Mazepa supports Sweden in the Great Northern War, is defeated at the Battle of Poltava (1709), after which Russian control strengthens.

  • Mid-to-late 1700s — Catherine the Great abolishes Cossack self-rule; Ukraine’s autonomy dismantled.

  • Partitions of Poland (1772–1795) bring western Ukrainian territories into the Austrian/Habsburg Empire.Hetman Ivan Mazepa tried to shake off Russian dominance by siding with Sweden during the **Great Northern War**. After the Swedish defeat at **Poltava (1709)**, Russia stripped away Ukrainian autonomy. By the late 1700s, Catherine the Great abolished the Cossack Hetmanate, while Galicia fell under Austrian rule after the Partitions of Poland.

 

 

1800s – National Awakening

 

  • Suppression of Ukrainian language and culture in Russian-controlled regions; in contrast, (Austrian) Galicia allows greater cultural expression.

  • Intellectuals, writers, and clerics start pushing for national identity: history, language, folklore become tools of resistance.

  • Peasant unrest around serfdom and inequality also plays a role in pushing for change.

 

Although political freedom was absent, culture became a weapon of survival. Under Russia, Ukrainian books were banned, yet poets like **Taras Shevchenko** and scholars like **Ivan Franko** inspired national awakening. In Austrian Galicia, Ukrainians enjoyed more cultural space, nurturing a growing sense of national identity.

 

 

Early 1900s – War and Revolution

  • World War I (1914–1918) — Ukraine is a battleground among empires.

  • 1917–1921: Ukrainian Wars of Independence — Multiple entities (Ukrainian People’s Republic, the Hetmanate, the Directorate, Galician forces) fight against Bolsheviks, White Russians, Poland, etc.

  • 1921 Treaty of Riga divides Ukraine: parts go to Poland, others become Soviet Ukraine.

     

    WWI devastated Ukraine. In 1917, revolution in Russia gave Ukraine a chance at independence. Several short-lived states appeared—the **Ukrainian People’s Republic** in the east, the **West Ukrainian People’s Republic** in the west—but they were crushed by Bolsheviks, Poles, and Whites. The **Treaty of Riga (1921)** split Ukraine between Poland and Soviet Russia.

1930s–1940s – Terror, Famine, and World War

  • Holodomor (1932–1933) — Forced collectivization, grain seizures, political repression. Millions starve.

  • World War II — Massive fighting on Ukrainian soil after the Nazi invasion (1941), occupation, atrocities (Babyn Yar), partisan and insurgent movements. Post-war, Soviet reprisals against those seen as collaborators or nationalists.

 

Stalin’s collectivization starved millions. Grain was seized, borders sealed, and relief blocked. The **Holodomor** killed millions and is now recognized by many as genocide, deliberately aimed at breaking Ukraine’s resistance to Soviet rule.

Ukraine endured the Nazi invasion and occupation in 1941. At **Babyn Yar**, over 30,000 Jews were massacred in days. Millions of Ukrainians were killed, starved, or enslaved. By 1944 the Soviets returned, crushing nationalist resistance and reasserting their grip.

Cold War Period (1945–1991)

  • Ukraine is a Soviet Republic: industrialized, but under tight control from Moscow.

  • Repression of nationalist, religious, or dissenting voices.

  • 1986: Chernobyl Disaster — Though not a conventional war, it’s a major political and social crisis that erodes trust in Soviet authority.

  • Rise of dissident movements; cultural revival begins to reassert Ukrainian identity.

     

     

 

Ukraine became a Soviet industrial hub, but repression continued. Nationalists were hunted, dissidents silenced. In 1986, the **Chernobyl disaster** shattered Soviet credibility and inspired new demands for freedom.

 

 

1991 – Independence & the 2000s

  • August 24, 1991 — Ukraine declares independence following Soviet collapse.

  • December 1991 referendum — Overwhelming support for sovereignty.

  • In the 1990s, the country struggles with economic collapse, corruption, shaping new institutions.

  • 2004 Orange Revolution — Mass protests reverse a rigged election; push for democratic reforms and greater alignment with Europe.

 

Ukraine declared independence on **24 August 1991**. Later, mass movements defended democracy: the **Orange Revolution (2004)** against election fraud, and the **Revolution of Dignity (2013–14)** against corruption and Moscow’s influence.

2010s – Revolution, Annexation, War

  • 2013-14: Euromaidan / Revolution of Dignity — Demonstrations force out pro-Russian president Yanukovych after his decision to reject EU association.

  • 2014 — Russia annexes Crimea; conflict breaks out in eastern Donbas with Russian-backed separatists.

  • Ongoing war in Donbas, displacement, breakdown of peace.

     

 

Russia seized **Crimea** and fueled war in **Donbas**, costing 14,000+ lives before 2022. It was a warning that Moscow would not tolerate an independent Ukraine looking west.

 

2022–Present – Full-Scale Invasion

  • Feb 24, 2022 — Russia launches full invasion.

  • Key battles: Kyiv, Mariupol, Kharkiv, Kherson, Bakhmut.

  • Ukrainian resistance stronger than many predicted; hybrid warfare, drone usage, international law and norms under strain.

  • Major humanitarian crisis: refugees, civilian casualties, infrastructure destruction.

 

Russia’s invasion on **24 February 2022** sought to erase Ukraine’s statehood. Instead, Ukraine resisted, defending Kyiv and liberating cities like Kherson. The war has brought destruction, but also unity and global recognition of Ukraine’s determination.