Ron & Nancy Minton

Missionaries to Ukraine

Ukraine Information
         About Ukraine
         Frequently Asked Questions
         Our Call to Ukraine
         International Baptist Bible College
         New Church Planting
         Sending Church
         Donations
         Schedule
         Newsletter
Ukraine Photos
Bible Seminar Information
Bible Resources

Ron & Nancy Minton at Grace Baptist Church, Bowie, MD

About the Nation of Ukraine

Size
      Second largest European country / 90% as big as Texas

Population
      47 million people

Religion (estimated)
      65% Russian Orthodox
      17% Atheist
      9% Eastern and Roman Catholic
      6% Muslim and Cults
      2% Protestant
      1% Baptist

Main Information Source: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/up.html

HISTORICAL NOTES ABOUT UKRAINE

Ukraine was the center of the first Slavic state, Kievan Rus, the largest and most powerful state in Europe in the 10th century. Ukraine was overrun by Mongol hordes, Lithuania, and Poland for centuries. During the latter part of the 18th century, Ukraine was absorbed by the Russian Empire. There was a brief independence following the collapse of czarist Russia (1917-1921), after which Ukraine endured a brutal Soviet rule. The Soviet Union started in 1922 and Ukraine was forced to be a member. The Soviets, under Stalin, engineered the great artificial famine (1932-33) in which 6-8 million Ukrainians died. Ukraine also lost around eight million in WWII. The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 and Ukraine achieved independence on August 24 of that year.

CHRONOLOGY OF UKRAINE AND THE USSR

1917      Bolshevik revolution with Vladimir Lenin a key person

1922      USSR formed (Ukraine forced to be a member)

1924 - 1953      Joseph Stalin years

1932 - 1933      Stalin's artificial famines kill 6-8 million in Ukraine

1940 - 1945      World War II - 30 million Soviets, 1/4 Ukrainians, die

1949      Soviet Union detonates its first atomic bomb

1962      Cuban missile crisis with Soviet missiles in Cuba

1986      Nuclear disaster at Chernobyl, Ukraine

1991      Soviet Union collapses

1991      Ukraine gains independence on August 24

2005      Ukraine gains more religious freedom

2008      Ukraine joins World Trade Organization

UKRAINE GEOGRAPHY

Ukraine is in Eastern Europe, between Russia and Poland; the Black Sea is on the south.
The second largest country in Europe, Ukraine is almost the size of Texas.
Ukraine shares its border with Moldova, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Belarus, and Russia.
Most of Ukraine consists of plateaus and fertile plains.
The Carpathian mountains are found in the western part of the country.
The Crimean Peninsula extends into the Black Sea in the south.
Ukraine is important geopolitically: at the crossroads between Europe and Asia, the West and the East.

UKRAINE NATIONAL DATA

Ukraine has almost 50 million people.
Ethnic groups include Ukrainians (77%), Russians (17%), and several others.
The main languages are Ukrainian and Russian with some Romanian, Polish, and Hungarian.
Major religions include Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Islam, and cults.