History of the Jews in UkraineThe history of the Jews in Ukraine dates back over a thousand years; Jewish communities have existed in the modern territory of Ukraine from the time of the Kievan Rus' (late 9th to mid-13th century). Important Jewish religious and cultural movements, from Hasidism to Zionism, arose there. According to the World Jewish Congress, the Jewish community in Ukraine constitutes Europe's third-largest and the world's fifth-largest. At times it flourished, while at other times it faced persecution and anti-Semitic discrimination.
Zhytomyr OblastZhytomyr Oblast (Zhytomyrska oblast), also referred to as Zhytomyrshchyna (Жито́мирщина), is an oblast (province) in northern Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Zhytomyr. Its population is approximately The oblast was created as part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic on September 22, 1937, out of territories of Vinnytsia and Kyiv oblasts as well as two border okrugs of Kyiv Oblast – Korosten Okrug and Novohrad-Volynsky Okrug.
BerdychivBerdychiv (Берди́чів, berˈdɪt͡ʃ(j)iu̯; Berdyczów; Barditshev; Berdichev) is a historic city in Zhytomyr Oblast, northern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Berdychiv Raion within the oblast. It is south of the administrative center of the oblast, Zhytomyr. Its population is approximately The area has seen various cultural influences and political changes over time, from its early settlement by the Chernyakhov culture to its position within the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and later, the Russian Empire.
Volodymyr ZelenskyyVolodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy (also transliterated as Zelensky or Zelenskiy; born 25 January 1978) is a Ukrainian politician and former comedian and actor who is the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019. Born to a Ukrainian Jewish family, Zelenskyy grew up as a native Russian speaker in Kryvyi Rih, a major city of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast in central Ukraine. Prior to his acting career, he obtained a degree in law from the Kyiv National Economic University.
Demographics of UkraineAccording to the United Nations, Ukraine has a population of 36,744,636 as of 2023. This is a steep decline from 2020, when it had a population of almost 44 million people. This is in large part due to the ongoing Ukrainian refugee crisis, and loss of territory caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In addition, it should be noted that the most recent (and only) census of a post-Soviet Ukraine occurred over 20 years ago, in 2001. Thus, much of the information presented here could be inaccurate and/or outdated.
Ukrainian War of IndependenceThe Ukrainian War of Independence was a military conflict involving many parties from 1917 to 1921 which saw the establishment and development of an independent Ukrainian republic, most of which was later absorbed into the Soviet Union as the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic of 1922–1991. The war consisted of military conflicts between different governmental, political and military forces. Belligerents included Ukrainian nationalists, Ukrainian anarchists, the forces of Germany and Austria-Hungary, the White Russian Volunteer Army, and Second Polish Republic forces.
Russo-Ukrainian WarThe Russo-Ukrainian War is an ongoing international conflict between Russia, alongside Russian-backed separatists, and Ukraine, which began in February 2014. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine and supported pro-Russian separatists fighting the Ukrainian military in the Donbas war. The first eight years of conflict also included naval incidents, cyberwarfare, and heightened political tensions. In February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.