Ukraine in June 2016

    Two years ago this past March, the Russian Federation seized control of Crimea, home of Russia's historic warm water port and only (short of Syrian) naval base in the Black Sea area. Russia had responded to a resoundingly supportive referendum in Crimea regarding Russian leadership (a referendum that has since been condemned by the international community, including the European Union).

Although Crimea is at peace (under Russian control), well over 6,000 have been killed while 3,000 ethnic Tatars have been forced to leave. Russian forces still occupy Donbass also (where admittedly most of the above cited fatalities occurred), but violence continues there in spite of a Minsk cease-fire treaty.

Petro Poroshenko remains president of the country, although a new Prime Minister, Vlodymyr Groysman, was elected in April 2016. Typically, in a parliamentary form of government, the Prime Minister is elected from the legislature and serves head of state. Ukraine's parliament is called the Verkhovna Rada, which (according to Wikipedia) originated in Kievan Rus in 800AD until the invasion of the Mongols some 300 years later. The Rada also existed during the time of the Dnieper Cossacks (17th and 18th centuries) for the meetings where major decisions were made.

The Ukrainian Rada was reinstituted after the overthrow of the Russian Tsar, until the Soviet communists seized control of Ukraine, ultimately reorganizing Ukraine's government under the Central Executive Committee of the Ukrainian SSR in 1938. The Rada was again formed in Ukraine after the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991.

Poroshenko was elected president after a Euromaiden protest in May 2014 (which Russia calls an armed coup). Poroshenko's predecessor, Victor Yankovich, had a close relationship with Russia and President Putin. Russia continues to claim that Ukraine forces are committing war crimes in prosecution of the conflict in the Donbass and loudly publicizes Ukrainian government corruption (a consensus issue for the country).

For seven of the past ten years, Ukraine's new Prime Minister served as mayor of Vinnytsia and was elected into parliament on the party lists of the pro-presidential Petro Poroshenko Bloc. Vlodymyr Groysman has indicated he will fight corruption and build closer ties with the European Union.