“All the control systems were in Russia. The black suitcase with the start button, that was with the Russian president, Boris Yeltsin,”
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Leonid Kravchuk
Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk was a Ukrainian politician who served as the first president of Ukraine from 5 December 1991 to 19 July 1994. Kravchuk's presidency was marked by Ukraine achieving independence from the Soviet Union, the handover of its post-Soviet nuclear arsenal and an economic crisis that ultimately resulted in him losing re-election. Prior to his presidency, he was Chairman of the Ve…
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entertainment · President of Ukraine from 1991 to 1994 · politician · economist · film actor · also Leonid Kravchuk, Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk, Leonid Makarovich Kravchuk, Kravchuk, Leonid, Kravchuk, Leonid Makarovych, Kravchuk, Leonid Makarovich
Born 10 January 1934 · Died 10 May 2022 · Q189732
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2026· 2 entries
“INTERVIEW: President Leonid Kravchuk outlines Ukraine’s position on nukes”
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2022· 8 entries
The Washington Post: Leonid Kravchuk, first president of independent Ukraine, dies at 88
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The Washington Post: Leonid Kravchuk, Ukraine’s first president, dies at 88
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Yahoo: Leonid Kravchuk, independent Ukraine's first president, dies at 88
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NPR: Leonid Kravchuk, independent Ukraine's 1st president, dies at age 88
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Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Leonid Kravchuk, First President Of Independent Ukraine, Dead At 88
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Yahoo: Leonid Kravchuk, independent Ukraine's 1st president, dies
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Died 2022-05-10.
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The New York Times: Leonid Kravchuk, First President of an Independent Ukraine, Dies at 88
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2020· 1 entry
Awarded Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 1st class presented by Volodymyr Zelenskyy (2020).
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2018· 1 entry
That it may have been removed or destroyed at Kravchuk's behest in order to improve his image in Soviet circles as an atheist
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2016· 1 entry
Won medal of 25 years of Ukrainian independence presented by Petro Poroshenko (2016).
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2014· 1 entry
Awarded Order of Liberty presented by Viktor Yanukovych (2014).
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2007· 2 entries
Awarded Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 2nd class presented by Viktor Yushchenko (2007).
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That the "best-performing" states had lost 20–35% of their GDPs in the early 1990s as a result of the Soviet Union's dissolution
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2004· 2 entries
Awarded Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 3rd class presented by Leonid Kuchma (2004).
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Awarded Honorary Diploma of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (2004).
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2002· 2 entries
Career landmark: People's Deputy of Ukraine (2002–2006).
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This time as the fifth candidate on the SDPU(o) list
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2001· 1 entry
Awarded Hero of Ukraine, Order of the State presented by Leonid Kuchma (2001).
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1999· 1 entry
Awarded Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 4th class presented by Leonid Kuchma (1999).
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1998· 2 entries
Alongside other national communists, and supported Viktor Yanukovych in the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election and subsequent Orange Revolution
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Career landmark: People's Deputy of Ukraine (1998–2002).
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1997· 2 entries
Career landmark: Participated in Odin na odin (tournament / event).
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When Romania and Ukraine signed the Treaty of Friendship and Good Neighbourliness, followed by the 2003 Treaty on the Status of the Romanian–Ukrainian State Border, as prerequisites for Romanian membership in NATO and th
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1996· 2 entries
Awarded Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 5th class presented by Leonid Kuchma (1996).
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That Ukrainian political leadership's inability and unwillingness to assert control over the BSF had allowed Russia to claim it, while Tyler Felgenhauer of Princeton University wrote in February 1999 that the dispute beg
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1995· 1 entry
That "Unlike someone from the Sovietized parts of the country, Kravchuk was well aware of the armed struggle led by the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army and of the 'insurgent republ
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1994· 2 entries
Being succeeded as president by Leonid Kuchma
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Career landmark: People's Deputy of Ukraine (1994–1998).
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1993· 2 entries
And 23% in 1994, ultimately standing at half of 1992 levels by 1995
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Erasing the population's savings and reducing the purchasing power of wages, pensions and all other sources of income
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1991· 2 entries
Career landmark: President of Ukraine (1991–1994).
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Career landmark: Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada (1991–1991).
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1990· 3 entries
Amidst the 1989–1991 Ukrainian revolution and the dissolution of the Soviet Union
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Career landmark: Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR (1990–1991).
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Career landmark: People's Deputy of Ukraine (1990–1991).
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1988· 1 entry
Kravchuk began supporting Mikhail Gorbachev and his policies of perestroika
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1986· 1 entry
Awarded Order of the Red Banner of Labour (1986).
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1984· 1 entry
And advocated for greater amounts of books, films and works of theatre which negatively depicted imperialism and capitalism, in what Motyl described as an "unabashedly Brezhnevite" taste in media
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1983· 1 entry
Won Medal "Veteran of Labour" (1983).
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1982· 2 entries
Won Medal "In Commemoration of the 1500th Anniversary of Kyiv" (1982).
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Advised the Central Committee to fight the Catholic Church's ostpolitik by destroying symbols associated with the banned Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, arresting its adherents and investigating churches, cemeteries
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1980· 1 entry
Focusing on agitprop, and a candidate member of the CPU politburo in September 1989
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1977· 1 entry
Awarded Order of the Red Banner of Labour (1977).
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1973· 1 entry
Awarded Order of the Red Banner of Labour (1973).
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1970· 2 entries
Won Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" (1970).
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Studied at Academy of Social Sciences of the Central Committee of CPSU (1970).
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1958· 4 entries
Studied at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (1958).
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And rose through the ranks, working as a propagandist
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At the age of 24, specialising in Marxist political economy, and began working as a teacher of political economy in the southwestern city of Chernivtsi before entering politics
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And became a member of the party apparatus in Chernivtsi Oblast in 1960
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1939· 1 entry
When Kravchuk was a child
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1934· 1 entry
Born 1934-01-10.
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1917· 1 entry
Inherited a 'quasi-state' more developed in institutions than its predecessor, but these institutions remained insufficient for a modern government
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