Ukraine (Geography)
The current borders belong to the post-war period. At the time of the peace
agreement, the then Ukrainian Soviet Republic was expanded to former Polish,
Czechoslovak and Romanian territories, and then in 1954 the Crimean peninsula
was transferred from the Russian Soviet Republic. Ukraine is predominantly
plains. To the west, however, lie the Volyn-Podolian Highlands and the
Carpathians, to the south the mountains of southern Crimea and to the SE Donetsk
Plateau. The country is crossed by south-going rivers (Dnestr, Bug, Dnieper,
Donets), which flow into the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Typical natural
vegetation in the lowlands is grassland. The climate is temperate mainland
climate, almost subtropical on the south coast of Crimea.
Population
Ukraine's bloody history in the 1900's. is reflected, probably without
European counterpart, in the development of the population, whose number in
1913-60 only grew from 35 million to 42 million. The human losses due to World
War I, civil war and subsequent famine were millions, the collectivization of
agriculture and the associated famine in 1932-33 cost 5-7 million people their
lives, and finally World War II in Ukrainian territory entailed losses that lay
of 15-20% of the population, including almost all the Jews of present-day
western Ukraine. The population development stabilized after World War II, but
the number is now declining, in the context of the deep crisis after
independence; the decline in 1999 was estimated at 0.6% per year. In total, the
population has fallen by more than DKK 4 million. from independence until
2005.Ukrainian-speaking; it is a difference that in all elections in
independent Ukraine has proved to have political significance.
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Industries
Due to its location and natural resources, Ukraine has been a key area in the
economic development of both Tsarist Russia and the Soviet Union. Ukraine played
a crucial role in Russian grain production and exports before World War I, and
Ukrainian agriculture was a major target of collectivization in the 1930's. A
significant part of the Ukrainian lowlands consists of the fertile black soil, chernozem,
and important crops are wheat and corn in addition to potatoes, sugar beets,
vegetables and wine. Ukraine also played a major role in the incipient
industrialization that took place in Tsarist Russia, and not least during the
1930's five-year plans, where several large and prestigious projects were located
in Ukraine, including investments in hydropower at the Dnieper. The iron ore
in Krivoj Rogin central Ukraine and the coals of the Donets formed the basis of
the construction of Ukrainian heavy industry and a significant machinery
industry. Other important minerals are manganese, phosphates and titanium, as
well as oil and natural gas. Electricity production (1998) is based on fossil
fuels (45%), hydropower (10%) and nuclear power (45%). Several oil and gas
pipelines from the fields in Russia have been routed through Ukraine. The main
port on the Black Sea is Odessa.
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The economic development since independence has been marked by crisis due to
administrative chaos and the sudden collapse of most of the economic networks
that existed before 1991, including trade relations with other parts of the
Soviet economy. According to official figures (1999), national income has halved
since 1991. Despite the decline, unemployment has been modest, but it is rising
as a result of reform policies and the liquidation of the public sector. In
2005, official unemployment was below 3%, while real unemployment was estimated
to be much higher. The decline in industry is general, but has hit relatively
hardest in the machinery industry, while energy-intensive (metallurgical) and
partly labor-intensive productions have experienced relatively smaller
declines. The development has contributed to a significant import of
energy, which not only weighs on the trade balance but also leads to dependence
on the energy exporter Russia. Energy dependence also means that Ukraine,
despite international pressure, has been reluctant to close nuclear power
plants; the work in Chernobyl, which experienced a catastrophe in 1986, was
closed permanently in Dec. 2000.
Many large companies in the traditional industrial sectors are still
state-owned, while the approximately 11,000 collective farms were privatized in the
period 1999-2001, which led to an increase in agriculture. Reform legislation in
other areas (corporate law, regulation of financial institutions, tax law, etc.)
is slowly and often arbitrarily evolving, contributing to a widespread black
economy and the crime and corruption that are pervading the entire Ukrainian
society. A particular obstacle to the development of economic reform is the weak
political and administrative system, whose reliability and ability to implement
decisions are considered to be at the lowest level in Eastern Europe. In 2000,
however, significant economic growth began, which lasted until 2005, when a
sharp decline was noted.
Environment
The environmental problems are very big in the form of pollution of the air
and water in rivers and on the Black Sea coast, and there is a shortage of
drinking water and forest death. There have been no means to reduce the
environmental impact of heavy industries and other companies, and the use of
coal of ever lower quality increases air pollution, just as the lack of
maintenance of hydropower plants and not least nuclear power plants poses safety
risks to the population. The environmental problems are sought to be remedied
with assistance from abroad, e.g. EU, but aid is insufficient and its effect is
hampered by problems in the political-administrative system.
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