Listen to this audiobook in full for free on https://hotaudiobook.com/free
ID: 596993
Title: Modern Ukraine: The History of the Country Since the 20th Century
Author: Charles River Editors
Narrator: David Pickering
Format: Unabridged
Length: 2:08:30
Language: English
Release date: 03-31-20
Publisher: Findaway Voices
Genres: History, World, Russia
Summary:
The history of Ukraine is a fascinating story of how cultures, political systems, religions, and power have met, intersected, morphed, and expanded. The region was relatively sparsely populated for much of ancient history, a wilderness of rivers, forests, and steppes, but that does not detract from the rich historical development of the region. A huge area, Ukraine is wedged between the continents of Asia and Europe, and its position as a crossroads ensured there was fierce competition for influence there. Historians have called the formation of Ukraine the establishment of a unity among three zonesthe ports of Crimea and the coast, the rich steppe heartland, and the forests, based around the themes of geography, ecology and culture.
Todays Ukraine is a huge country, incorporating an area over 600,000 square kilometers and home to 42 million people. It stretches from the Crimean Peninsula on the Black Sea in the south to Belarus in the north, Russia to the east, and Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west. The Dnieper River is the regions key waterway, running into the Black Sea, while the Danube Delta also forms its border with modern-day Romania to the southwest. A steppe exists in the middle of the country while the Carpathian Mountains feature in the west. This geographical formation has influenced some of the countrys key historical developments, as well as the location of its major settlements. Kiev (known today as Kyiv) is, of course, the longstanding capital of the country, located on the Dnieper River in the central northern part of modern Ukraine. Lviv is another large city, located in the northwest near the border with Poland. Odessa is a seaside city on the Black Sea in Ukraines southwest, while Kharkiv, Luhansk, and Donetsk are major cities in the countrys east, close to the Russian border.