Transition to independence

The government of Ukraine underwent rapid change in the early 1990s. Before its declaration of independence in 1991, Ukraine was officially called the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and was part of the Soviet Union. According to the 1937 Soviet constitution as amended in 1944, Ukraine had the right to “enter into direct relations with foreign states, to conclude agreements, and to exchange diplomatic and consular representatives with them” and to maintain its own military forces. The only real expression of these constitutional prerogatives in international affairs, however, was Ukraine's charter membership in the United Nations (and consequently in some 70 other international organizations), a distinction it shared with the Belorussian S.S.R. (now Belarus) as the only two UN members that were not fully sovereign countries. The revised Soviet constitution of 1977 further limited the prerogatives of the Ukrainian S.S.R. Following the failed coup (Aug. 19, 1991) against the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, Ukraine proclaimed its independence on Aug. 24, 1991, and won overwhelming popular approval for this act in a referendum on Dec. 1, 1991. Ukraine was subsequently recognized by other governments, and many international agreements were signed, notably with neighbouring countries. In addition, Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia formed the Commonwealth of Independent States on Dec. 8, 1991, which was then joined by eight other former republics of the defunct Soviet Union. The Commonwealth's members agreed to retain the strategic nuclear forces of the former Soviet Union under a unified command, and in 1994 the Ukrainian government agreed to begin dismantling the strategic nuclear missiles that were based on its territory. The Ukrainian government insisted, however, on the creation of Ukrainian armed forces out of the Soviet troops stationed in Ukraine. Ukraine also intended to conduct its own fiscal policy and to that end established a national bank. The Soviet-era constitution largely remains in force.

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