Updated: 2019-06-23.
Here is a brief timeline of important events that have shaped the country of Ukraine and its people; the focus here will be geared towards recent events (from 100 years ago or so), located towards the bottom, but we’ll begin with more ancient events first.
882 CE – Kievan Rus’ begins with of Prince Oleg.
1569 – Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Ukraine falls under administration of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
1648 – Khmelnytsky Uprising, a Ukrainian Cossack rebellion.
1772-1795 – ‘Partitions of Poland.’ Western Ukraine falls under control of Austria-Hungary, the rest becomes part of Russian Empire.
Mid-18th Century – Ukrainian National Revival. Ukrainian nationality and identity to consider.
1917 – Rada Council. Central Rada (Council) forms in Kiev after collapse of Russian Empire.
1918 – Ukraine Declares Independence
1932 – Stalin’s Famine. Around 7 million killed during Stalin’s collectivization famine.
1941-1944 – Nazis Occupy
1944 – Tatars to Siberia. Stalin deports almost a quarter million Tatars from Crimea to Siberia.
1945 – WWII Ends. Western portion of Ukraine annexed into Soviet Union as WWII ends.
1986 – Chernobyl nuclear power station’s reactor explodes, causing infamous radioactive event.
1991 – Independence. Ukraine declares independence from USSR.
1996 – Hryvnia Currency Introduced
2004 – Orange Revolution
2014 – Russia Annexes Crimea
