endence
was agreed upon for 1982, the policy was reversed and the islands
remain a British overseas territory.

Tuvalu
In 1974, ethnic differences within the British colony of the
Gilbert and Ellice Islands caused the Polynesians of the Ellice
Islands to vote for separation from the Micronesians of the Gilbert
Islands. The following year, the Ellice Islands became the separate
British colony of Tuvalu. Independence was granted in 1978. In 2000,
Tuvalu negotiated a contract leasing its Internet domain name ".tv"
for $50 million in royalties over the next dozen years.

Uganda
Uganda achieved independence from the UK in 1962. The
dictatorial regime of Idi AMIN (1971-79) was responsible for the
deaths of some 300,000 opponents; guerrilla war and human rights
abuses under Milton OBOTE (1980-85) claimed at least another 100,000
lives. During the 1990s, the government promulgated non-party
presidential and legislative elections.

Ukraine
Ukraine was the center of the first Slavic state, Kievan
Rus, which during the 10th and 11th centuries was the largest and
most powerful state in Europe. Weakened by internecine quarrels and
Mongol invasions, Kievan Rus was incorporated into the Grand Duchy
of Lithuania and eventually into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
The cultural and religious legacy of Kievan Rus laid the foundation
for Ukrainian nationalism through subsequent centuries. A new
Ukrainian state, the Cossack Hetmanate, was established during the
mid-17th century after an uprising against the Poles. Despite
continuous Muscovite pressure, the Hetmanate managed to remain
autonomous for well over 100 years. During the latter part of the
18th century, most Ukrainian ethnographic territory was absorbed by
the Russian Empire. Following the collapse of czarist Russia in
1917, Ukraine was able to bring about a short-lived period of
independence (1917-20), but was reconquered and forced to endure a
brutal Soviet rule that engineered two artificial famines (1921-22
and 1932-33) in which over 8 million died. In World War II, German
and Soviet armies were responsible for some 7 to 8 million more
deaths. Although final independence for Ukraine was achieved in 1991
with the dissolution of the USSR, democracy remained elusive as the
legacy of state control and endemic corruption stalled efforts at
economic reform, privatization, and civil liberties. A peacef