Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Ukraine became an independent state. This independence was supported by the referendum in all regions of Ukrainian SSR, including those with large Russian populations.[21] A study of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine found that in 1991, 75% of ethnic Russians in Ukraine no longer identified themselves with the Russian nation.[22] In the December 1991 Ukrainian independence referendum 55% of the ethnic Russians in Ukraine voted for independence.[23]
