A referendum on the Act of Declaration of Independence was held in Ukraine on 1 December 1991. An overwhelming majority of 92.3% of voters approved the declaration of independence made by the Verkhovna Rada on 24 August 1991.
On the same day, a presidential election took place. From 2 December 1991 onwards, Ukraine was globally recognized by other countries as an independent state. Also on 2 December, the President of the Russian SFSR Boris Yeltsin recognized Ukraine as independent. In a telegram of congratulations Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev sent to Kravchuk soon after the referendum, Gorbachev included his hopes for close Ukrainian cooperation and understanding in “the formation of a union of sovereign states”.
Ukraine was the second-most powerful republic in the Soviet Union both economically and politically (behind Russia), and its secession ended any realistic chance of Gorbachev keeping the USSR together. These fascinating photos were taken by American photographer Peter Turnley that show everyday life of Ukraine in 1991.
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| Kiev, Ukraine, 1990 |
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| A man holds a sign above the crowd at a Ukrainian pro-independence rally, Ukraine, 1991 |
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| A woman holds a sign above the crowd at a Ukrainian pro-independence rally, 1991 |
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| A worker operates a press at the Lviv Bus Plant (Lvivsky Avtobusny Zavod, or LAZ), Lviv, Ukraine, 1991 |
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| A worker operates a press at the Lviv Bus Plant (Lvivsky Avtobusny Zavod, or LAZ), Ukraine, 1991 |
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| A worker poses inside the Lviv Bus Plant (Lvivsky Avtobusny Zavod, or LAZ), Lviv, Ukraine, 1991 |
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| A young man waves the Ukrainian flag on the heavily graffitied base of a statue of Lenin while others watch, Ukraine, 1991 |
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| Architecture in Lviv, Ukraine, 1991 |
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| At the cashier of a liquor and confectionery store, Ukraine, 1991 |
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| Boy standing on the heavily graffitied base of a statue of Lenin, Ukraine, 1991 |
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| Bride and groom at the wedding reception in Lviv, Ukraine, 1991 |
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| Central market of Kiev, Ukraine, 1991 |
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| Christian woman at home, Lviv, Ukraine, 1991 |
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| Crowd gathering outside bakery, Kiev, Ukraine, 1991 |
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| Elderly woman counting money, Ukraine, 1991 |
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| Farm couple riding on wagon, Ukraine, 1991 |
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| Farm worker on a collective farm in Lviv, Ukraine, 1991 |
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| Farm workers harvesting crops, Ukraine, 1991 |
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| Farmers harvesting wheat on collective farm, Lviv, Ukraine, 1991 |
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| Farmers harvesting wheat on collective farm, Lviv, Ukraine, 1991 |
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| Inside of Kiev center market, Ukraine, 1991 |
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| Kiev, Ukraine, 1991 |
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| Lenin statue, Ukraine, 1991 |
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| Lviv Bus Plant (Lvivsky Avtobusny Zavod, or LAZ), the Ukraine's only bus manufacturer and the largest factory in Lviv, Ukraine, 1991 |
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| Men drinking beer at bar in Ukraine, 1991 |
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| Men drinking beer outside bar in Ukraine, 1991 |
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| Passengers by windows of a train car, Ukraine, 1991 |
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| People playing chess in the park, Lviv, Ukraine, 1991 |
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| People playing chess in the park, Lviv, Ukraine, 1991 |
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| People praying at Orthodox Catholic Church in Ukraine, 1991 |
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| People praying at Orthodox Catholic Church in Ukraine, 1991 |
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| Potato harvest, Ukraine, 1991 |
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| Pro-independence rally, Ukraine, 1991 |
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| Sundown on cobblestone street, Ukraine, 1991 |
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| The girl at the meat stall on the street of Lviv, Ukraine, 1991 |
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| Thieves stealing potatoes, Ukraine, 1991 |
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| Two women chatting in the hallway of a building in Lviv, Ukraine, 1991 |
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| Two young police officers outside a building, Ukraine, 1991 |
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| Ukraine daily life, 1991 |
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| Ukraine daily life, 1991 |
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| Ukrainian bus factory worker, Lviv, Ukraine, 1991 |
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| Wheat harvest on a collective farm, Lviv, Ukraine, 1991 |
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| Wheat harvest on collective farm, Lviv, Ukraine, 1991 |
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| Wheat harvest on collective farm, Lviv, Ukraine, 1991 |
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| Woman at Orthodox Catholic Church in Ukraine, 1991 |
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| Woman weighing apples, Ukraine, 1991 |
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| Worker at Ukrainian bus factory, Lviv, Ukraine, 1991 |
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| Workers assemble axles at the Lviv Bus Plant (Lvivsky Avtobusny Zavod, or LAZ), Lviv, Ukraine, 1991 |
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| Workers forge metal bars at the Lviv Bus Plant (Lvivsky Avtobusny Zavod, or LAZ), Lviv, Ukraine, 1991 |
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| Young mother and child boarding a tram in Lviv, Ukraine, 1991 |
(Photo © Peter Turnley)
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