A Historical Lead Up To The Current Crisis Gripping Crimea Ukraine is a country situated between Europe and Federal Russia and is considered the "breadbasket" of Europe. It was one of the original constituents of the Soviet Union that dissolved in 1991. Since then, it has established a rather unstable democracy with a very frail economy. Within the country today, an acute political rift emerged between its pro-Russian eastern and its pro-Europe western regions. This all began when Ukraine's pro-Russia President Viktor Yanukovych declined an association agreement with the European Union. The agreement aimed at the integration of Ukrainian economy with the Western countries, which many Ukrainians saw as their chance for economic prosperity. Due to Yanukovych's rejection of the deal, mass upheavals started to enuse across Ukraine and the once internal unrest careened towards a war with its powerful neighbor, Russia. Fights broke between Ukraine patriots and Russian military troops sided by pro-Russia Ukrainian rebels. Russia's aggression quickly led to international involvement in which world leaders urged the two nations to arrive at a diplomatic solution. According to them the problem has great possibility of reaching a global scale if not addressed promptly. Information covered in this book... Ukraine's Struggle for Independence Holodomor: The Face of Soviet Famine in Ukraine (Special Coverage) The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Post-Soviet Russia and Ukraine Disputes The 2014 Ukrainian Crisis