Ukraine (Ukrainian:
Україна) is a country in Eastern Europe. Ukraine borders Russia to the east and
northeast, Belarus to the northwest, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary to the west,
Romania and Moldova to the southwest, and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the
south and southeast, respectively. It has an area of 603,628 km2 (233,062 sq
mi), making it the largest country entirely within Europe. The territory of
Ukraine was first inhabited at least 44,000 years ago, with the country being a
candidate site for both the domestication of the horse and for the origins of
the Indo-European language family. Ukraine has long been a global breadbasket
due to its extensive, fertile farmlands. Additionally, the country has a well-developed
manufacturing sector, particularly in the area of aerospace and industrial
equipment. Ukraine is a unitary state composed of 24 oblasts (provinces), one
autonomous republic (Crimea) and two cities with special status: Kiev, its
capital and largest city and Sevastopol, which houses the Russian Black Sea
Fleet under a leasing agreement. Ukraine is a republic under a
semi-presidential system with separate legislative, executive, and judicial
branches. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Ukraine continues to
maintain the second-largest military in Europe, after that of Russia, when
reserves and paramilitary personnel are taken into account. The country is home
to 44.6 million people, 77.8% of whom are ethnic Ukrainians, with sizable
minorities of ethnic Russians (17%), Belarusians, Tatars and Romanians.
Ukrainian is the official language of Ukraine; its alphabet is Cyrillic.
Russian is also widely spoken. The dominant religion in the country is Eastern
Orthodox Christianity, which has strongly influenced Ukrainian architecture,
literature and music.
The state coat of arms of Ukraine (Ukrainian:
Державний Герб України) or commonly the Tryzub (Ukrainian: Тризуб,
"trident") is the national coat of arms of Ukraine, featuring the
same colors found on the Ukrainian flag; a blue shield with gold trident,
called the tryzub, which means "three teeth." It means the triune God
on earth and in heaven. It appears on the Presidential standard of Ukraine. Blue
colored tridents are considered to be irregular representation by the Ukrainian
Heraldry Society.
The small coat of arms was officially adopted
on 19 February 1992, while constitutional provisions exist for establishing the
great coat of arms, which is not yet officially adopted. The small coat of arms
was designed by Andriy Grechylo, Olexiy Kokhan and Ivan Turetskyi. It is a
representation of the seal-trident of Vladimir the Great.
The trident was not thought of as a national
symbol until 1917, when one of the most prominent Ukrainian historians,
Mykhailo Hrushevsky, proposed to adopt it as a national symbol (alongside other
variants, including an arbalet, a bow or a cossack carrying a musket, i.e.
images that carried considerable historical and cultural and heraldic
significance for Ukraine). On 22 March 1918, the Central Rada (parliament)
adopted it as the coat of arms of the short-lived Ukrainian People's Republic.
During the Soviet period of 1919-1991 the
state symbols were consistent with the Russian SFSR and the Soviet Union -
Sickle and Mallet over the rising sun.
