Ukraine celebrates 33 years of independence: history of struggle and resilience
Фото: З відкритих джерел
On August 24, all Ukrainians should celebrate Independence Day.
As Rubryka reports, this year marks the 33rd anniversary of Ukraine's independence.
Unfortunately, for the past ten years, Ukrainians have had to defend it with weapons in hand, driving out the Russian occupier from their land.
For the first time in 2022, Independence Day was observed under conditions of full-scale Russia's aggression, with all celebrations canceled due to the threat of missile attacks.
It is worth noting that if a referendum on the declaration of state independence of Ukraine were held today, an overwhelming majority of Ukrainians (85%) would support independence.
Support for independence remains at an all-time high over the past 23 years of sociological research. This indicator was only higher in August 2022, at 87.5%.
Photo from open sources
What is known about Ukraine's Independence Day
Independence Day of Ukraine is an annual holiday celebrated on August 24 to commemorate the adoption of the Act of Proclamation of Independence in 1991. This document, passed during an extraordinary session of the Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian SSR, officially declared the creation of an independent Ukrainian state.
The act from the early 1990s wasn't Ukraine's first attempt to legitimize its independence. Throughout the turbulent 20th century, various regions of Ukraine declared themselves self-governing states. Three such declarations occurred in 1918, including one by the Ukrainian People's Republic in January of that year.
The same year saw the Kuban People's Republic and the West Ukrainian People's Republic also declare independence. However, these states were short-lived. The Bolsheviks took control of the Kuban and Ukrainian People's Republics in 1920, while statehood in western Ukraine was dismantled following the Polish-Ukrainian War. By July 1919, Poland, Romania, and Czechoslovakia had annexed Bukovyna, Halychyna, and Transcarpathia.
In 1939, another Ukrainian state emerged—Carpathian Ukraine, which had gained autonomy within Czechoslovakia the previous year. But Hungary, with territorial ambitions, invaded on the night of March 13-14, 1939, alongside Hitler's troops. The Sejm declared Carpathian Ukraine's independence the next day, but by March 18, Hungarian forces had occupied the region.
Despite these setbacks, the pursuit of Ukrainian statehood continued, with governments operating in exile. Another proclamation of Ukrainian independence occurred on June 30, 1941, in Lviv, then under German occupation. Yaroslav Stetsko, the first deputy leader of the OUN, declared the restoration of the Ukrainian state. However, the Germans, having no intention of fostering an independent Ukraine, arrested and executed members of the OUN by September 1941.
It wasn't until 50 years later, on August 24, 1991, that Ukraine made its fifth and most successful bid for self-governance, achieving the long-awaited independence that is now being defended against the descendants of the Bolsheviks.
Following this, an All-Ukrainian referendum was held on December 1, 1991, where citizens confirmed their support for independence. The referendum posed a single question: "Do you confirm the Act of Proclamation of Independence of Ukraine?" Of the 31.2 million people who participated, 28.8 million (90.3%) voted in favor.
We will remind you that in 2o23, Kyiv's central street displayed burned tanks, armored vehicles, and missile remnants. Ukrainians worldwide were called upon to form the largest living chain of unity on the 32nd anniversary of Independence.
For the 33rd anniversary, the National Bank of Ukraine issued updated banknotes, featuring the slogan "Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the heroes!"
Additionally, according to Rubryka, 91.4% of Ukrainians surveyed expressed pride in being citizens of Ukraine. This is a significant increase from previous years: 62.4% in 2000, 61.8% in 2010, 68.4% in 2015, and 94% in 2023.
