Issued to mark the fifth anniversary of Ukraine's post-independence constitution, ratified on June 28, 1996 — a document adopted after months of fractious parliamentary debate and a near-collapse of negotiations that required President Kuchma to invoke emergency decree powers to force a vote. The 1996 constitution was notably the last among former Soviet republics to be finalized, reflecting how deeply contested the balance between presidential and parliamentary authority remained in Kyiv throughout the early independence period.
Issued to mark the fifth anniversary of Ukraine's post-independence constitution, ratified on June 28, 1996 — a document adopted after months of fractious parliamentary debate and a near-collapse of negotiations that required President Kuchma to invoke emergency decree powers to force a vote. The 1996 constitution was notably the last among former Soviet republics to be finalized, reflecting how deeply contested the balance between presidential and parliamentary authority remained in Kyiv throughout the early independence period.