PRESIDIUM OF VERKHOVNA RADA OF UKRAINE  RESOLUTION
On Address of the Presidium of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine
to Citizens of Ukraine of All Nationalities

(Vidomosti Verkhovnoyi Rady (VVR) 1991, #42, p. 555)

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine r e s o l v e s that:

1. The Address of the Presidium of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to Citizens of Ukraine of All Nationalities shall be approved.

Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian SSR                              Leonid Kravchuk

Kyiv, August 26, 1991

#1442-XII

ADDRESS
to Citizens of Ukraine of All Nationalities

On August 24, 1991, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine passed a historic document – the Act of Declaration of Independence of Ukraine. From now on, our republic is an independent democratic state.

More than 110 nationalities live on its territory including Russians, Jews, Belorussians, Moldavians, Poles, Bulgarians, Hungarians, Crimean Tatars, Romanians, Greeks, Gagausians, etc. Together with the Ukrainians, they compose a 52-million people of Ukraine.

In the previous years, the policy of oppression of spiritual life of nations, their languages and cultures was pursued. We have suffered from harsh deformations and distortions, willfulness and lawlessness in the existence of nations. We have lived through this bitter time together in concord and without conflicts.

Now, the new time has come for the development of interethnic relations in Ukraine. The Presidium of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is committed to ensure that under no circumstance the declaration of independence of Ukraine causes violation of right of people of any nationality.

Independent Ukraine as a legal democratic state guided by the generally recognized standards and principles of international law in the area of interethnic relations, the Declaration on the State Sovereignty of Ukraine shall ensure equal political, economic and social rights of all citizens, absolute freedom for development of all national languages and cultures.

Presidium of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine