One of the larger of the former Soviet Bloc countries, Ukraine has seen a turbulent number of years since attaining independence in 1991, with true democracy eluding the people until very recently, with the bloodless Orange Revolution at the end of 2004. Since then the country has been promoting itself to the rest of the world as a truly reformed nation, free of corruption, encouraging of foreign investment and open to the budding off plan buyer. Most of the country consists of fertile plains – known as steppes – and plateaus, with mountainous regions in the West. Ukraine is home to many beautiful natural elements, such as the forested regions of the North and the spectacular Black Sea views in the South, and the country is increasing in popularity with tourists every year.

The history of Ukraine is certainly a turbulent one, even up to recent times. From as far back as the 7th Century BC the country was passing hands between rulers, occupiers and breakaway republics. Modern history of the country stems from the 1840s, when the Russian rulers of the country decided to ban the use of Ukrainian as a language in schools and books, after an increased air of nationalism from the people. This repression continued until the Tsar empire collapsed in 1917 – what should have been the time for Ukraine to embrace its independence actually became a prolonged civil war, with numerous factions vying for control of the country. 1922 saw the country integrated into the Soviet Union, and Ukraine soon fell foul of Stalin’s atrocities – around seven million people died in an engineered famine, countless intellectuals were deported or executed, hundreds of buildings were destroyed and people were sent to Soviet labour camps in their millions.

The Second World War saw this tragic path continuing, with around six million Ukrainians perishing in combat – all in all, the first half of the 20th Century saw around half of the male and a quarter of the female population eradicated. Around forty years of relative quiet followed, until the nuclear reactor explosion in Chernobyl put Ukraine centre of the world stage in 1986, highlighting the failure of the Soviet regime and showing the entire planet that the secretive Communist Bloc was – far from an invincible superpower – a weak, crumbling and failing system. The fall of the Soviet Union saw Ukraine finally attain independence, but government infighting and corruption saw proceedings disrupted, along with disputes with Russia over inherited nuclear weapons and border quarrels. The following decade saw things settle down, in 2000 the Chernobyl reactor was officially closed and in 2001 the last Russian missile silo was destroyed. Allegations of government corruption refused to dispel however, and the discontent of the Ukrainian people manifested itself in November 2004 in the so-called Orange Revolution, when the standing government was forcibly ejected from power without bloodshed. Since then, Ukraine has placed itself on a road to retribution, with Euro-leaning tendencies and a more open, less corrupt government.

It has certainly taken a while, but it looks as if affairs in Ukraine are finally settling down into normality. With an economy that has experienced growth over the last few years, a booming property market, incredible natural beauty and a host of man-made delights it really is a country to keep an eye on. Whilst by no means fully ‘recovered’ from years of mis-management, Ukraine is on the path to good health and offers the budding off plan investor a country with bags of potential.