Ukraine

Economic Ukraine:
This country was the soviet union's most important component after Russia. It produced 1/4th of the Soviet's Agricultural, Agrarian, fisheries, and farming out put from its fertile soil and Gas generation. It is a Presidential -Parliamentary government with a estimated population of 45.8 million.

After their independence on August 1991, the government liberalized most prices and set up a legal framework for privatization. Wide spread resistance in the government lead to some back tracking and by 1999 had fallen to 40% of the 1991 level. It was weak to external factors as it before relied on Russia for power supplies heavily and its weak structure of government. In January 2009, Ukraine signed a 10 year agreement gas supply and transit contracts with Russia after a cutoff of gas from Europe. They debated it for two weeks, and it brought gas prices to the "world's" level. This has furthur strapped their gas company (already struggling) Naftohaz with the strictness of this treaty. The IMF and other  organizations encouraged Ukraine to step it up on the reforms and they eliminated most tax and customs privileges in a budget law that brought out economic activity in their large shadow economy. They still have to fight however corruption, develop capital markets, and improve the legistlative framework.

Ukraines economy has been flameboyant because of tension between primeminister and the president. The real GDP growth exeeded 7% in 2006-2007, fueled by high global prices for steel (Ukraines top export). By strong domestic consumtion, made rising pensions and wages. It made a agreement with the IMF for a 16.4 billion stand-by arrangment in November 2008 to deal with the economic crisis, but the Ukrainian government lack of progress of implanting reforms has twice delayed the release of IMF assistance funds. In 2008 the drop of steel prices and the economic crisis made a recoil of their economy by 15% in 2009. Putting them in one of the worst economic performances in the world. They had growth come back in 2010 but was predicted to lower in 2011

On september 24, 2011, The primemister talked to russia as how the 2009 gas treaty has caused them to import more.