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Contrary to Russia's expectations, military intervention into Ukraine only strengthened the Ukrainian civic nation. As a number of polls demonstrate, since 2014 there is a growing trend that the vast majority of Ukrainians, also in the government-controlled areas of the Donbas, identify themselves, first and foremost, as Ukrainian citizens. Regional and local identity is not their primary choice anymore and there are clear indicators of a strong civic identity that favors a unitary Ukraine. The lack of progress for a solution of the conflict in the Donbas impacts upon Ukrainian public opinion which, in turn, puts pressure on the Ukrainian authorities: there is a wide acceptance of a diplomatic solution to the conflict and readiness for some compromises but the reintegration of the occupied territories should take place according to pre-war conditions, without any federalization of Ukraine. Also, without establishing a stable security regime in the Donbas there is little support for an implementation of the political part of the Minsk-2 agreement. However, closer to the frontline, the more Ukrainians are ready for compromises. The promise of peace by new President Volodymyr Zelenskyy puts a question on what compromises his team may accept and justify in the eyes of Ukrainians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unlike the Russian authorities, the Ukrainian authorities are unable to create a social base for authoritarianism through the use of cheap raw materials and the idea of state grandeur. Ukraine also differs from Belarus in being much more pluralistic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Orange Revolution has not led to the creation of an effective government or of democratic checks and balances. Therefore, contrary to many hopes, after the 2010 presidential election Ukraine is backsliding into "soft" authoritarianism. However, the failures of the regime to deliver socioeconomic promises have united the electorate in different regions of the country in their growing criticism of the authorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the authors' views regarding the impact of impact of the Georgia conflict on Ukrainian politics. The authors note that the conflict has contributed to Ukraine political instability by worsening tensions within the governing coalitions. They stresses that conflict indicates that improved cooperation among competing Ukrainian political institutions is needed.

Abstract: Research on successor parties in the former Soviet Union has mostly focused on leftist parties and paid little attention to their interplay with centrist forces which equally have their roots in the Soviet system. This article examines the development of both leftist and centrist successor parties in post-Soviet Ukraine. After consideration of the role of legacies of the old regime as well as the current legal and societal framework, the evolution of leftist parties and the so-called parties of power is explored. The analysis shows that the leftists were weakened by internal splits and a partial inability to modernize. But equally important was the logic of power preservation in the Leonid Kuchma regime, which promoted the formalization of the party of power and crowded out the leftist competitors. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]