On 14 January the Stus Prize was awarded in Kyiv to Yevhen Zakharov, Co-Chair of the Kharkiv Human Rights Group, the poet Iryna Zhylenko and historian Volodymyr Vyatrovych.

In a Judgement passed on 13 December 2011, and made public on Thursday, Ukraine’s Constitutional Court rules that the languages of ethnic minorities may be used in Ukrainian courts, alongside the State language

"True nationhood can only come from the collective action of the people.. the current situation is a direct result of their over dependence on a corrupt and non democratic system that has been allowed to evolve in the interests of a select few"

However the percentage of those who said yes when asked whether Ukraine really was an independent country was less than the number who gave a negative answer (37.4% and 49.8% respectively). Last year the numbers were approximately equal (43.2% and 44.7%, respectively

The survey has been carried out over many years by the Institute of Sociology around the anniversary of Ukraine’s independence

Torrential rain has led to flooding of the exhibit hall of the National Museum in Memory of the Victims of Holodomor in Ukraine

The Hungarian community in the Transcarpathian region assert that the local department of the Security Service [SBU] is questioning people who have been to the Hungarian embassy trying to receive Hungarian citizenship.

In the light of all that is happening in these parts of the world, the UK’s National Union of Journalists and its members believe it “bizarre and inappropriate for the British government to axe essential parts of the BBC World Service”

In the Economist Intelligence Unit’s third Index of Democracy 2010, Ukraine shows the worst result of any European country, slipping 14 points (it held 53rd place in 2008 and is at 67 in 2010)

Ukrainian poet and translator Moses Fishbein has been awarded the Order “For Intellectual Courage” (Potocki Palace, Lviv, Ukraine, 15 December 2010).

According to a survey by the authoritative Razumkov Centre, Ukrainians are registering a fall in the level of democracy

Police spokeswoman Natalya Taran told AP that a Hasidic Jewish pilgrim was killed in Uman, home to the grave of an important Hasidic rabbi who died 200 years ago, in a fight with local residents

Kharkiv, which was already awarded the European Diploma in 2003, Flag of Honour in 2004 and the Plaque of Honour in 2008, is the first Ukrainian town to receive this award

The 75- minute film is about Holodomor 1932-1933. Work on the film spanned 11 months, and its premier was on 21 November 2008.

In Ukraine, it states, the authorities failed to respond adequately to rising racist attacks. Refugees and asylum-seekers were at risk of enforced return. Torture and other ill-treatment in police detention continued, and perpetrators of human rights violations enjoyed impunity

Despite lots of dire reports and predictions of late, it would seem that Ukrainians are by no means eager to have fundamental rights and freedoms curtailed

The Razumkov Centre has published the results of a public opinion survey regarding the human rights situation in 2008. According to respondents, the situation in general worsened, as did observance of specific rights

The President of the European Parliament warned parliamentarians that the constant political instability was a serious problem for the country and was slowing down the process of reform

On the 50th anniversary of a failed uprising against Chinese troops which led to his exile, the Dalai Lama has launched a fierce attack on Chinese rule in his Tibetan homeland

According to the latest Razumkov Centre survey, assessments of changes in Ukraine in various areas during 2008 are extremely negative and much worse than at the end of 2007