Verkhovna Rada facts for kids

The Verkhovna Rada (which means "Supreme Council of Ukraine" in Ukrainian) is the main law-making body, or parliament, of Ukraine. Think of it like the place where important decisions for the country are made. It has 450 members called deputies, who are like elected representatives. These deputies meet in a special building in Kiev, which is the capital city of Ukraine. A person called a speaker or chairman leads the meetings.

The Verkhovna Rada first started in 1938. Back then, Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union. Since then, it has had many different groups of deputies, called "convocations."

When people vote in elections for the Verkhovna Rada, political parties need to get at least 3% of the votes across the country to get seats. The number of seats they get is decided using a special method. The last elections mentioned were in 2007.

What Does "Verkhovna Rada" Mean?

The word Rada (Ukrainian: Рада) means "council." This word has a long history in Ukraine. It was used in the old kingdom of Kievan Rus' hundreds of years ago for meetings of important people. Later, in the 1600s and 1700s, Dnieper Cossacks used "Rada" for their big meetings where they made important choices and chose new leaders.

This name was also used by the first Ukrainian government that formed after 1917, called the Central Rada.

The word Verkhovna means "supreme" or "highest." It comes from the Ukrainian word for "top." So, "Verkhovna Rada" literally means "Supreme Council."

Images for kids

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  Yulia Tymoshenko becomes Prime Minister of Ukraine in the Rada on February 4, 2005.

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  A full view of the Verkhovna Rada building.

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  The Verkhovna Rada building from a side street.

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  Dmytro Razumkov, a former Chairman of the Rada.

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  A person with a ballot during the 2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election.