Essay on political geography of ukraine

Question one

Ukraine is the second largest country in Europe. Has a wide land that is extremely fertile on its plains, and exclusive industrial parks in the east. The independence of Ukraine is marked by the fall of the Soviet Union that occurred in 1991 since the country became independent immediately after the fall of the union. Since then the country has been looking for exclusive amalgamation with the Western Europe, as well as resolution with Russia (Marten, 2014). Although, Ukraine shares historical origins with Ukraine, the west of the country has remained closely tied to the European neighbors, mainly Poland where Ukrainian nationalist attitude is strongest.
Extremely few Ukrainians use their first language as Russian, especially in the east of the country. In Crimea, which is an independent republic on the Black Sea, which initially belonged to Russia up to 1954, citizens with Russian origin add to approximately 60% of the population. Crimea is the home to Crimean Tatars, whom Stalin was judged for collaborating with the Nazis and was deported in 1944 to central Asia. Since the end of 1980s approximately 250000 have returned making the rest of the peninsula population consisting of Ukrainians (Marten, 2014).
It has been major concern whether Ukraine belongs to Europe of Russia. Mass protests were brought up following a revolt by state media, which challenged government controls, as well as the fracturing of the governing coalition. This led to European-Union mediation, as well as a re-run of the election.
Trade between Ukraine and Russia has continued to reduce while it heightens with European countries. Ukraine relies on Russia for energy supply and forms an exclusive section of the pipeline that transits Russian gas to Europe. Move to reach an agreement with the European Union has developed tension to Russia leading to a conflict. As a result, an opposition-led interim government in Ukraine prepares elections. Moscow creates international tension by sending troops to Crimea as backing for pro-Russian activists who campaigned for its secession from Ukraine (Marten, 2014).

Question two

Like any other region, Ukraine is marked by certain cultural practices. These practices have been connected to all individuals who may have any form of connection to Ukraine. The first cultural practice that would be useful in identifying the link that exists between Ukraine and Crimean Peninsula is language. Approximately 80% of the population in Crimean is Russian speakers. This is an indication that Ukraine had exclusive connection with the Russian culture, and some elements of European culture since the rest of the population used English as their language (Rubenstein, 2014).
The ministry of culture oversees a supportive program for cultures of national minorities in Ukraine following state funding for cultural activities. The government’s supports a range of minority-association activities, like maintaining minority language, as well as allow all the groups in the country hold festivals (Rubenstein, 2014).
The other cultural factor that is centre of conflict between Ukraine and Crimean Peninsula is the election rule. Voting is a vital element that defines the wellbeing of the political status of a country. Ukraine as an independent country recognizes the significance of an individual vote towards execution of a given task. On the other hand, Crimean Peninsula has recognized election as a cultural practice that the region needs to embrace. It is through the practice of voting in Crimean that conflict arise in the region as the country tries to push Russian activists. This centralizes conflict in Crimean (Rubenstein, 2014).

Question three

Territory is an extremely fundamental element in politics. It is definition of a region under influence of a given people. A territory is usually defined by existence of common practices among the people who live in the given region. People living in a common place are major determinants of the activities that take place in the region. This means they are exclusive determinants of the political activities of a given region (Woehrel, 2014).
People living in the same region possess common characteristics that determine the activities that take place. Politics is an extremely sensitive element as it dictates how people in a given region interact with each other. Political position of a region influences how activities flow. They are major determinants of how neighboring regions interact. Political background of a region is mainly determined by the territory (Woehrel, 2014).
The conflict in Ukraine may have been influenced by the existence of extensive resources in the country. Ukraine is a rich country with exclusive agricultural potential. This is an indication that every individual would require interaction with the country. In addition, the country has an extremely large size, which is an indication of the extensive resources that the country possesses. Ukraine is also rich in European and Russian cultures. This major element attracts tourists to the country, extending the significance of the country to different people in the region. Therefore, the extensive resources that the country enjoys may be the central theme of the conflict. For example, Russia finds Ukraine extremely significant in its distribution of energy in the European Union (Woehrel, 2014).
In addition, the boundary issues may be extremely significant in the conflict that is being witnessed in Ukraine. The regions that border Ukraine are equally interested in the activities of the country. They define how activities are undertaken in the region and any factor affecting Ukraine would be influential to the region (Woehrel, 2014).

Question four

Sovereignty is defined as the excessive power of a country. It may be extended in definition as a country’s independent authority, as well as the right and ability of a country to govern itself. In this case, the country obtains a government that determines how activities flow in the country. There are rules that are developed in terms of the beliefs and condition of a country. In most cases, these rules are known as the constitution. The rules are defined independent of foreign views making them extensively significant in the region where the country is located (Reddie, 2014). However, sovereignty does not mean failure in recognition of international rules that may be in existence.
Ukraine is among the countries that enjoy exclusive sovereignty. The country has a well defined constitution gained since its independence. This means there extensive rules that should be followed in a bid to achieve proper coexistence in the given region. The sovereignty of Ukraine has been shown through existence of proper rules that allow the country to interact with its neighbors accordingly. However, it has been a problem to the neighboring countries. It has been using its sovereignty to make decisions on whom to interact with in terms of business. This has been a major cause of the conflict in the region as Russia tries to control Ukraine through Crimean region (Reddie, 2014).

Works Cited

Marten, Kimberley, How Crimea’s Annexation Plays To Russians’ Soviet Nostalgia, Interview, KQED Terry Gross, National Public Radio – Fresh Air, March 25, 2014.
Reddie, Andrew. The Sovereignty Dilemma in Ukraine in Georgetown Journal of International Affairs – March 19, 2014.
Rubenstein, James M., The Cultural Landscape, An Introduction to Human Geography, 11th edition, Pearson Education Inc. 2014. Print
Woehrel, Steven, Ukraine: Current Issues and U. S. Policy, Congressional Research Service. 2014.