In the 15 years since independence, Ukraine has been inching toward democracy. But much of the institutionalized behaviors from the Soviet era remained.


I traveled to Ukraine in November 2000. Many people strongly believed Ukrainian President Kuchma was connected to the murder of a journalist, Georgy Gongadze. Georgy had been reporting on governmental corruption. Georgy's headless body was found November 3, 2000 in a field.


Then there was the 2004 election of Yushchenko. It was reported that Yushchenko was poisoned with dioxin.

"This case of poisoning Yushchenko is not an isolated one at all," says Andrei Piontkovsky, head of the Center for Strategic Studies in Moscow. "This practice was routine for the KGB in Soviet times, and I don't think their successors have higher moral standards."


From: The Christian Science Monitor, KGB legacy of poison politics

Eventually people stop believing their government and institutions when they are lied to over and over.


Then comes the Orange Revolution and the chance to finally get rid of the older generation from government. At least I believe the dynamics between different generations played a role.

Ukraine's "Orange Revolution" (Ukrainian: Помаранчева революція ) of 2004-2005 was a series of protests and political events that took place throughout the country in response to allegations of massive corruption, voter intimidation and direct electoral fraud during the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election.


From: Orange Revolution

Then there were elections that turned Ukrainian President Yushchenko from hero to goat.

The recent parliamentary elections in Ukraine and subsequent coalition-building moves by the Orange parties have once again revealed a troubling truth about Ukraine’s political elite: its inability and unwillingness to take election results as a manifestation of the popular will and ultimate sovereignty of the Ukrainian people.


It is Ukraine’s electorate that decided that the Party of Regions would get one-third of the popular vote, and that decided to punish the party of a weak and indecisive president [Yushchenko] with a humiliating third place.

From: Let policy reflect the popular vote

To be continued.....

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Institutional Uncertainty
Chernobyl
Ukraine's Government from 1991 to 1994
Ukraine's Government from 2000 to 2006
Why is everyone's adoption experience unique?
Corruption