Ukrainians demanding independence. Source: Chrystyna Lapychak. The Ukrainian Weekly.
On August 24th 1991 independence was adopted by the Ukrainian parliament. The population voted in December for independence with an impressive majority. Kravchuk was chosen the first president. Ukraine withstood political pressures from Russia to reconsider their indepence. However, shortly after the independence referendum Ukraine, Russia and Belarus established and signed the “Commonwealth of Independent States”.
