Declaration of Independence of Ukraine
Encyclopedia
The Act of Declaration of Independence of Ukraine ' onMouseout='HidePop("60928")' href="/topics/Romanization_of_Ukrainian">translit.
Akt proholoshennya nezalezhnosti Ukrayini) was adopted by the Ukrainian parliament
on August 24, 1991. The Act established Ukraine
as an independent, democratic state.
The Act was adopted in the aftermath of the August 19th coup attempt
when conservative Communist leaders of the Soviet Union
tried to restore central Communist party
control over the USSR. In response, the parliament of the Ukrainian SSR in a special Saturday session overwhelmingly approved the Act of Declaration. The Act passed with 321 votes in favor, 2 votes against, and 6 abstention
s. The author of the text was Levko Lukyanenko
.
The same day (August 24), the parliament called for a referendum
on support for the Declaration of Independence. The proposal for calling the national referendum came jointly from majority leader Oleksandr Moroz
and opposition leader
Ihor Yukhnovsky.
In the independence referendum on December 1, 1991
, the people of Ukraine expressed widespread support for the Act of Declaration of Independence, with more than 90% voting in favor, and 82% of the electorate
participating. Shortly after, the independence of Ukraine was recognized worldwide.
Since 1992, August 24th is celebrated in Ukraine as Independence Day.
, translation by The Ukrainian Weekly Declaration of Independence of Ukraine – The Windsor Viter, Volume 12, Number 1, July, 2001 Part 2, translation by Andrew Gregorovich "Great Saturday" – an interview with writer and parliament deputy Stepan Pushyk on the events of August 24, 1991.
Romanization of Ukrainian
The romanization or Latinization of Ukrainian is the representation of the Ukrainian language using Latin letters. Ukrainian is natively written in its own Ukrainian alphabet, a variation of Cyrillic....
Akt proholoshennya nezalezhnosti Ukrayini) was adopted by the Ukrainian parliament
Verkhovna Rada
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is Ukraine's parliament. The Verkhovna Rada is a unicameral parliament composed of 450 deputies, which is presided over by a chairman...
on August 24, 1991. The Act established Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
as an independent, democratic state.
The Act was adopted in the aftermath of the August 19th coup attempt
Soviet coup attempt of 1991
The 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt , also known as the August Putsch or August Coup , was an attempt by a group of members of the Soviet Union's government to take control of the country from Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev...
when conservative Communist leaders of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
tried to restore central Communist party
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
control over the USSR. In response, the parliament of the Ukrainian SSR in a special Saturday session overwhelmingly approved the Act of Declaration. The Act passed with 321 votes in favor, 2 votes against, and 6 abstention
Abstention
Abstention is a term in election procedure for when a participant in a vote either does not go to vote or, in parliamentary procedure, is present during the vote, but does not cast a ballot. Abstention must be contrasted with "blank vote", in which a voter casts a ballot willfully made invalid by...
s. The author of the text was Levko Lukyanenko
Levko Lukyanenko
Levko Lukyanenko ; is a Ukrainian politician, and Soviet dissident and Hero of Ukraine.-Biography:Lukyanenko was born on 24 August 1928 in the Khrypivka village of Chernihiv Oblast, in the USSR...
.
The same day (August 24), the parliament called for a referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
on support for the Declaration of Independence. The proposal for calling the national referendum came jointly from majority leader Oleksandr Moroz
Oleksandr Moroz
Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Moroz is a Ukrainian statesman and politician. He was the Speaker of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine twice: July 2006 to September 2007, and previously in 1994 through 1998. Moroz is one of the founders and leader of the Socialist Party of Ukraine, which was an influential...
and opposition leader
Democratic Bloc
Democratic Bloc was a political alliance and an electoral bloc in Ukraine founded during the election campaign to participate in the parliamentary election held during March 4-18, 1990.-History:...
Ihor Yukhnovsky.
In the independence referendum on December 1, 1991
Ukrainian independence referendum, 1991
A referendum on the Act of Declaration of Independence of Ukraine took place in Ukraine on December 1, 1991. The only question of the referendum was: "Do you support the Act of Declaration of Independence of Ukraine?" – with the text of the Declaration as a preamble to the question...
, the people of Ukraine expressed widespread support for the Act of Declaration of Independence, with more than 90% voting in favor, and 82% of the electorate
Electorate
Electorate may refer to:* voters, people entitled to vote in an election* electoral district or constituency, the geographic area of a particular election* The dominion of a Prince-elector in the Holy Roman Empire...
participating. Shortly after, the independence of Ukraine was recognized worldwide.
Since 1992, August 24th is celebrated in Ukraine as Independence Day.
Act of Independence
See also
- Ukrainian independence referendum, 1991Ukrainian independence referendum, 1991A referendum on the Act of Declaration of Independence of Ukraine took place in Ukraine on December 1, 1991. The only question of the referendum was: "Do you support the Act of Declaration of Independence of Ukraine?" – with the text of the Declaration as a preamble to the question...
– for a Ukrainian languageUkrainian languageUkrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
copy of the Act printed on a referendum ballotBallotA ballot is a device used to record choices made by voters. Each voter uses one ballot, and ballots are not shared. In the simplest elections, a ballot may be a simple scrap of paper on which each voter writes in the name of a candidate, but governmental elections use pre-printed to protect the...
.
External links
Act of Declaration of Independence of Ukraine – Official Verkhovna Rada website Act of Declaration of Independence of Ukraine – Official Verkhovna Rada website Act of Declaration of the Independence of Ukraine – The Ukrainian WeeklyThe Ukrainian Weekly
The Ukrainian Weekly is the oldest English-language newspaper of the Ukrainian diaspora in the United States, and North America.Founded by the Ukrainian National Association, and published continuously since October 6, 1933, archived copies of the newspaper are available at leading libraries in the...
, translation by The Ukrainian Weekly Declaration of Independence of Ukraine – The Windsor Viter, Volume 12, Number 1, July, 2001 Part 2, translation by Andrew Gregorovich "Great Saturday" – an interview with writer and parliament deputy Stepan Pushyk on the events of August 24, 1991.