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After the Sochi Olympics, Putin invaded Ukraine. How months of anti-government protests led to the current standoff.
Ukraine, population 45 million, is strategically located between Russia and Europe. The current crisis has reignited the divide between Ukrainians who identify more with Europe and those who identify with Russia.
Photos of some of those killed in recent violence at a makeshift memorial in Kiev.
Yannis Behrakis / Reuters
Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union from 1919-1991. Millions died from state-imposed famines in the 1930s and then war with Nazi Germany. In 1986, a nuclear reactor in Chernobyl exploded, causing widespread damage that Moscow tried to silence.
Maxim Shemetov / Reuters
In 1991, Ukraine declared its independence as the Soviet Union disintegrated. 90% of Ukrainians voted for independence in a nationwide referendum. The country then struggled to rebuild its economy, end corruption, and develop its political system.
A note on terminology: Ukraine is the preferred name, as The Ukraine, for many Ukrainians, implies that it is a region (in this case, of Russia), rather than a sovereign state.
Joern Pollex / Getty Images
2004 was a turning point. In November, Viktor Yanukovych, then prime minister, won presidential elections. Opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko, who was more western-leaning, accused Yanukovych of vote rigging and called on Ukrainians to protest.
Yanukovych was the chosen successor of then president Leonid Kuchma. Kuchma, a pro-Kremlin politician, was accused of numerous corruption scandals and reportedly ordered the beheading of a critical journalist, Georgy Gongadze.
Uriel Sinai / Getty Images
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