The Constitution of Ukraine

Ukraine is situated in south-eastern Europe. It is an inde­pendent, democratic, unitary state with single citizenship. Its population is about 52 million people. Ukraine has its own ter­ritory, constitution, government and the state symbols. It has its own armed forces and maintains diplomatic relations with foreign countries.

The Constitution of Ukraine was adopted on June 28, 1996. The Constitution is the Fundamental Law of the country, it estab­lishes the state’s political system, assures rights, freedoms and duties of citizens.

The Constitution states that every person has the right to free development of his or her personality, and has certain ob­ligations before the society. Citizens have equal constitutional rights and freedoms and they are equal before the law. There are no privileges or restrictions based upon colour of skin, politi­cal and other beliefs, ethnic and social origin, property, owner­ship, position, language, religion.

The articles of the Constitution guarantee the rights to life, personal inviolability and the inviolability of dwelling, non-interference in private and family life, free choice of residence, work, education, housing, health protection, medical care, legal assistance, a safe and healthy environment.

Defence of the Motherland, of its independence and territorial integrity, and respect for the state’s symbols are the duty of citizens. Citizens of Ukraine are also obliged to perform military service. Every person shall pay taxes in the order and amount de­termined by law. No person may damage the environment and cultural heritage.

The Constitution defines the territorial structure of Ukraine. It consists of 24 regions and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.

NATIONAL SYMBOLS OF UKRAINE THE FLAG

The Constitution states that the national symbols of Ukraine shall be the National Flag, the National Emblem, and the National Anthem.

The Ukrainian flag consists of two horizontal stripes of equal width. The top is blue, the bottom – yellow. Blue and yellow, the colours of the sky, mountains, streams, and golden fields have symbolized Kyivan Rus’ long before the introduction of Christianity. With the acceptance of Christianity, blue and gold were incorporated into church symbolism. After the Mongol-Tatar invasion in the 1200’s the use of blue/gold was interrupted, to be revived again in church ornaments and city crests some time later. The emblem of the city of Myrhorod, for example, was a gold trident over a blue background. Another city, Pryluky, used the head of an ox in gold over a blue background as its insignia. And in Lubny, the city emblem pictured a hand holding a golden mace over a blue background. The banners of the Cossacks (17^th Century) were blue with gold stars, a gold cross, or with pictures of saints rendered in gold.

UKRAINE SMALL COAT OF ARMS

Trident (tryzub). The official coat of arms of Ukraine is a gold trident on an azure background. As a state emblem the trident dates back to Kievan Rus’. When it was the coat of arms of the Riuryk dynasty. The oldest examples of the trident discovered by archaeologists on Ukrainian territory date back to the 1^st century AD.

At that time the trident probably served as a symbol of power in one of the tribes that later became part of the Ukrainian people. The trident was stamped on the gold and silver coins issued by Prince Volodymyr the Great (980-1015), who perhaps inherited the symbol from his ancestors as a dynastic coat of arms and passed it on to his sons, Sviatopolk I (1015-19) and Yaroslav the Wise (1019-54).

On February 19 1992, after the restoration of Ukraine’s independence in 1991, the Supreme Council accepted the trident as the chief element in the state coat of arms.

Дата добавления: 2015-09-01