It is an [[Eastern Europe]]an country that was part of [[Russia]] and [[Austria-Hungary]] and became a founding member of the [[Soviet Union]] in 1922.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080418030322/http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-30078/Ukraine Interwar Soviet Ukraine], ''Encyclopædia Britannica''.</ref> It was previously independent from 1917 to 1918, a German puppet state in 1918, non-aligned from 1918 to 1920, a Soviet Republic from 1922 to 1941, again a German puppet state from 1941 to 1944, and again a Soviet Republic from 1944 to 1991. | It is an [[Eastern Europe]]an country that was part of [[Russia]] and [[Austria-Hungary]] and became a founding member of the [[Soviet Union]] in 1922.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080418030322/http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-30078/Ukraine Interwar Soviet Ukraine], ''Encyclopædia Britannica''.</ref> It was previously independent from 1917 to 1918, a German puppet state in 1918, non-aligned from 1918 to 1920, a Soviet Republic from 1922 to 1941, again a German puppet state from 1941 to 1944, and again a Soviet Republic from 1944 to 1991. |