Throughout the history of Ukraine, a number of strikes, labour disputes, student strikes, hunger strikes, and other industrial actions have occurred.
A labour strike is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. This can include wildcat strikes, which are done without union authorisation, and slowdown strikes, where workers reduce their productivity while still carrying out minimal working duties. It is usually a response to employee grievances, such as low pay or poor working conditions. Strikes can also occur to demonstrate solidarity with workers in other workplaces or pressure governments to change policies.
Vitaliy Andriyovych Masol was a Soviet-Ukrainian politician who served as leader of Ukraine on two occasions. He held various posts in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, most notably the Head of the Council of Ministers, which is the equivalent of today's Prime Minister, from 1987 until late 1990, when he was forced to resign. He was later Prime Minister of Ukraine, confirmed in that post on 16 June 1994. He resigned from that post on 1 March 1995.
Volodymyr Vasyliovych Shcherbytsky was a Ukrainian Soviet politician who served as First Secretary of the Ukrainian Communist Party from 1972 to 1989. A close ally of Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, Shcherbytsky replaced reformist leader Petro Shelest in 1972 as part of a crackdown on the Ukrainian intelligentsia. Shcherbytsky ruled as a neo-Stalinist, overseeing Russification of Ukrainian society as well as a rapid shift to nuclear power, ultimately resulting in the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. Shcherbytsky was removed in 1989 amidst widespread protests against his rule, and died months later.
Viacheslav Maksymovych Chornovil was a Ukrainian politician and Soviet dissident. As a prominent Ukrainian dissident in the Soviet Union, he was arrested multiple times in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s for his political views. From 1992 onwards, Chornovil was one of the leaders of Rukh, the People's Movement of Ukraine, which was the first opposition party in democratic Ukraine, and editor-in-chief of the newspaper Chas-Time (Chas) from 1995. One of the most prominent political figures of the 1980s and 1990s, Chornovil paved the way for contemporary Ukraine to regain its independence.
A labour revolt or worker's uprising is a period of civil unrest characterised by strong labour militancy and strike activity. The history of labour revolts often provides the historical basis for many advocates of Marxism, communism, socialism and anarchism, with many instances occurring around the world in both the 19th and 20th centuries.
The Revolutions of 1917–1923 were a revolutionary wave that included political unrest and armed revolts around the world inspired by the success of the Russian Revolution and the disorder created by the aftermath of World War I. The uprisings were mainly socialist or anti-colonial in nature. Most socialist revolts failed to create lasting socialist states. The revolutions had lasting effects in shaping the future European political landscape, with, for example, the collapse of the German Empire and the dissolution of Austria-Hungary.
The Revolution on Granite was a student-led protest campaign that took place primarily in Kyiv and Western Ukraine in October 1990. Ukraine was then the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, part of the Soviet Union until its declaration of independence from the Soviet Union on 24 August 1991. The protest was held from 2 October until 17 October 1990. One of the students' demands was the resignation of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR Vitaliy Masol. On the last day of the protests, Masol was forced to resign and was replaced by Vitold Fokin.
From the formal establishment of the People's Movement of Ukraine on 1 July 1989 to the formalisation of the Declaration of Independence of Ukraine via referendum on 1 December 1991, a non-violent protest movement worked to achieve Ukrainian independence from the Soviet Union. Led by Soviet dissident Viacheslav Chornovil, the protests began as a series of strikes in the Donbas that led to the removal of longtime communist leader Volodymyr Shcherbytsky. Later, the protests grew in size and scope, leading to a human chain across the country and widespread student protests against the falsification of the 1990 Ukrainian Supreme Soviet election. The protests were ultimately successful, leading to the independence of Ukraine amidst the broader dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Strikes by coal miners in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine occurred throughout most of the 1990s. Beginning in 1989, coal miners went on strike against poor pay amidst poor economic conditions. Originally part of the 1989 Soviet miners' strikes, the demands of miners in the Donbas also reflected sentiments in favour of Ukrainian nationalism, and they were supported publicly by pro-independence groups such as the People's Movement of Ukraine.
A number of labour strikes, labour disputes, and other industrial actions occurred in 1991.
In 1989, a number of labour strikes, labour disputes, and other industrial actions occurred.
In 1990, a number of labour strikes, labour disputes, and other industrial actions occurred.
In 1996, a number of labour strikes, labour disputes, and other industrial actions occurred.
In 2000, a number of labour strikes, labour disputes, and other industrial actions occurred.
In 1997, a number of labour strikes, labour disputes, and other industrial actions occurred.