Post-totalitarian and/or democratic: Ukrainian background for transition (original) (raw)
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The paper explores the historical and political context of Ukraine's transition from a post-totalitarian society to a more democratic framework, examining the contrasts and influences between Western and Eastern Ukrainian political movements. It discusses the evolution of political values shaped by the region's diverse historical experiences and ideologies, particularly the impact of Soviet governance and the role of nationalist movements in shaping contemporary Ukrainian identity. The analysis highlights the challenges faced during the democratization process post-independence, as well as the complexity of political attitudes within the country.
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After the decay of the Soviet Union, Ukraine has declared its aspiration to strengthen democracy. However, oligarchic-clan model of the political regime was created instead of democracy in Ukraine. This hybrid model is characterized by close coalescence of politics and economics. The oligarchic-clan model formed gradually, acquiring specific features, in the time of all the four presidents of independent Ukraine. Discrepancy between front ( declared ) aims of Ukrainian government and the real political process eventually has started to gain threatening dimensions, which caused the appearance in two powerful Maidan - the Orange Revolution (2004) and Euromaidan (Fall -Winter 2013-2014 ). The reason of the first Maidan - Orange Revolution of 2004 - was the falsification of the presidential elections in Ukraine. The main cause of the second area - Euromaidan (Fall-Winter 2013-2014) - was the refusing of the signing the "Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU" by current Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. In general, the main cause of the second Maidan (Euromaidan) was the same as the reason of the first Maidan (the Orange Revolution) - categorical rejection of political double standards.
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