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The tendencies of postsecularism in the social life of today's Ukraine are especially significant in their influence on the quasi-religious context of religious worships practiced in the country. These factors erode the modernity basis of the society, and Ukraine appears in the contradictory situation of its intention to complete the modernisation process and oppose the antiglobalistic isolationism. The neo-Protestant teachings and practices are obviouly connected with the principles of liberalism and consumerism. Neo-Oriental and new syncretic religions show that they produce significant influence on spreading globalistic views in the Ukrainian society. The marginality characteristics of new religions prove the idea that their values are a challenge to the essentialistic dichotomies of the Ukrainian traditional churches. The sociocultural and political context of globalisation and postmodernism includes religious transformations axiomatically, and the impact of both on the late capitalism stage is evident in different contexts. The culture of postmodernism makes this process complicated in the countries which are still between modernity and postmodernity. The processes of 'label change' are important with the stress on the substitution of the rationalistic foundation by quasi-scientific teachings. The conclusions demonstrate that the very incompleteness of the modernity has led to the expansion of the quasi-religious techniques in the social and cultural life of Ukraine. The erosion of the modernity values results in spreading new religions, which became vivid at the end of the last century. As globalisation promotes syncretic and neo-Oriental religions, antiglobalistic movements are supported by neo-pagan techniques and practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses activists' attitudes towards using social media for civic actions in authoritarian and democratising countries. Specifically, it examines whether civic activists in Belarus and Ukraine perceive social media as 'liberation technology' or as unhelpful and overhyped, a 'net delusion'. We compare the ways in which civic activists use social media for the purpose of spreading information, networking and mobilisation. We find that social media is used by them for civic activism in order to campaign for civil and political liberties in their countries. Civic activists are generally enthusiastic about the use of social media, however we highlight challenges arising from socio-political conditions as well as negative consequences of activists' online engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current situation in Ukraine, which to some extent influences the social and political climate in Europe, may be perceived entirely differently from the position of an insider compared with that of an outsider, as well as from the perspective of the researcher and an individual person. This article is going to present and analyse the three prevailing narratives about the conflict, which shape the continuum for the multiplicity of individual stories, basing on the concept of strategic narratives (Berenskoetter, 2014). How is a Ukrainian self-victimizing narrative formulated out of the situation and what kind of national biography does it presuppose? What arguments are used to develop a Russian strategic narrative and what mechanisms distribute this narrative in media? How is the conflict moulded in a geopolitical narration? Finally, how do Ukrainians with different backgrounds perceive these narratives and what attitudes towards the situation they may have? This article aims to summarize the main discourses presented in Ukrainian society, an understanding of which is needed for personal narrative construction, reconciliation and security building. The final part of the article will present the personal stories of internally displaced people, obtained through the series of in-depth interviews, and highlight the possible options for peacebuilding and reconciliation in Ukrainian society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the agency of wealthy businessmen-politicians' philanthropy foundations during the Ukrainian Maidan protests of 2013-14 in which crowdfunding and grassroots mobilization constituted key distinctive features. As the role of these philanthropy foundations remains obscure, this article aims to bridge this gap in our knowledge of Ukrainian politics and society. The protesters strived to achieve social change and democratization similar to what was being purported by wealthy businessmen-politicians' foundations during the years leading up to the protests. However, since the protesters specified one particular aim as "deoligarchization," the involvement of these organizations is puzzling. What did these foundations do at this critical point? To what extent can their actions or inactions be explained by the institutional and framework constraints of the foundations, the strategies of the wealthy businessmen-politicians behind the foundations, and the lack of the foundations' legitimacy in the eyes of the civic sector activists? The analysis covers different types of foundation and is based on semi-structured interviews involving the foundations' representatives, think-and-do tank analysts, and Maidan activists, over the years 2011 to 2017. The findings show that the organizational entities were largely directed by their respective founders. This indicates a dependence of the philanthropic organization on the political affiliation of the founder, rather than on the framed ambition of the foundation. Similar to the impact of philanthropic organizations in other institutional contexts, the impact of philanthropy foundations on the Maidan social movement proved marginal. Since oligarchs could not be invisible during the political turmoil, they tried to retain a position from which they could deny responsibility for specific actions. The logic of commitment compensation and the logic of flexibility advanced by Markus and Charnysh proved useful for analyzing the strategies of these businessmen-politicians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the 2014 revolution, a massive renaming of toponyms related to the communist ideology took place in Ukraine. The results of this renaming help understand the essentiality of Ukrainian delayed post-socialist and post-colonial transition and, in particular, national and regional identities that Ukrainians are going to build, and ideology that local and national authorities are going to impose. This study covers the 36 largest cities in Ukraine with a population of more than 100,000 and focuses on the new street names that appeared as the result of de-communization. It was found that in south-eastern Ukraine, the renaming strategy was targeted to avoid the commemorative names, especially those related to military-political events and personalities, as well as to depoliticize urban toponyms, by using non-commemorative categories of street names, like topographical or poetic ones, or restoring the historical toponyms. On the contrary, new toponyms in western and central Ukraine reflect the legacy of the national liberation movements of the 20th century. However, urban toponyms in the most eastern regions, including Donbas, continue to retain close links with the Soviet period. The memory of the Cossack era and Ukrainian Peoples Republic seems to be the well-perceived and common-shared strata of national identity. At the same time, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army and the Soviet legacy remain topics dividing the Ukrainian society. The street renaming process in post-revolutionary Ukraine shares some common characteristics with other post-socialist European countries, such as the appeal to the pre-socialist period in order to reinforce the national identity, replacement of political and military place-names with those related to local and national culture and heritage, and the increased importance of local and regional toponyms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over a period of three months, starting in late 2013, Ukraine experienced a remarkable civic transformation. What started as peaceful protests largely consisting of young idealists, grew quickly into an organized yet decentralized social movement, a conglomeration of semi-formal initiatives, and a loosely defined network of related formal and informal organizations-a process that ultimately prompted significant political and social changes in Ukraine. This paper offers three case studies related to EuroMaidan to provide insight into the formal and informal dimensions of civil society, contrasting those with official designations. The discussion contributes to the long-debated question of the strength or weakness of civil society in the context of Eastern Europe and suggests directions for future research with regard to the conceptualization of civil society and our understanding of formality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The article focuses on the adoption of food safety law of the European Union (EU) by the Ukranian government. Topics discussed include the passage of the Law No. 1602 VII on Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine related to Food Products by President Petro Poroshenko, several food-related laws in the country such as the Law on State Regulation of Agricultural Imports and the Economic Code, and the importance of improving food safety's regulatory framework for market access in EU.

The article focuses on the social and security conditions of Ukraine as the main issue on the agenda of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) conference in 2014. Discussion of the important role played by the organization in promoting peace and security within its jurisdiction is provided. Overview of the security report presented at the conference and recommendations to address the issue is offered.

Scholars of sending countries emphasise the role of economics in shaping state policies towards emigration. They argue sending states are converging around a set of discursive strategies that aim to facilitate the influx of remittances from emigrants. One such strategy uses discourses of cultural nationalism to celebrate emigrants as ‘heroes’ of the nation. Drawing on a state-sponsored media campaign and ethnographic data, I found the Ukrainian state does the opposite. It stigmatises its emigrants to both Italy and the USA as ‘prostitutes’ and ‘defectors’, respectively. However emigrants are differentially stigmatised. Emigrants to the USA are simply dismissed, but the Ukrainian state constructs migration to Italy as a shameful social problem. It does this even though emigrants to Italy send back significantly more remittances. Economic interests cannot explain Ukrainian state practices towards emigration. Instead, in the context of post-Soviet transformation, I suggest the Ukrainian state has prioritised the construction of a national identity. The state then constructs policy with an eye to cultural rather than economic outcomes. I argue the Ukrainian state actively stigmatises the migration to Italy because it poses challenges to the nation-building process, whereas the migration to the USA is peripheral to this key state concern. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

As a result of the transformations which have taken place in the territory of the former USSR, Ukraine has entered—according to Thomas Carothers—a “gray zone.” In the Ukrainian case, it is a zone of ambivalence between evolution toward the Russian model of the political system and transformation toward a West European democracy. It appears that the latter variant is quite likely. This is evidenced by the events connected with the “Orange Revolution” and the social reaction to President Yanukovych’s decision not to sign an association agreement with the European Union. The integration of this country into the Euro-Atlantic area clearly calls into question the possibility of Moscow returning to the role of sole hegemonic leader in post-Soviet territory. Over the past several years, Moscow’s policy toward Ukraine has been legitimized by the idea of a civilizational community—the “Russkiy Mir.” This is based on the assumption that, allegedly, a cultural and spiritual unity exists among the “Orthodox nations.” Their consolidation would underwrite—among other things—a civilizational clash with the West. This article aims to answer the question of how the idea of the Russkiy Mir is perceived in Ukraine. It appears that the idea of constructing an Orthodox civilizational community clashing with the West is not compatible with the core unarticulated knowledge which shapes the rules of contemporary social and political life in Ukraine. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Aggravation of social and economic situation in regional systems in Ukraine and in many countries of the world claims more attention to studies of cause-consequence relations of such systems' elements with their environment. The precondition and simultaneous effect of such relations realization is dynamic and structural improvements in the system which in a certain way are reflected to the efficiency of its functioning. The article is devoted to substantiation of the actual cause-consequence relations between structural changes in the system of regional socium, results of its vital functioning and external influences which have become more visible. Substantiation builds on specification of correlative dependence between the coefficients of elements allocation uniformity within the system, intensity of structural changes in it, and values that characterize investment dynamics and gross value cost as measuring values of materialization of factors that influence system's functioning and the results. Proved is the fact that the existence of the relation is the base precondition of taking into account structural changes within regional socium system to develop state and regional programmes and strategies that will determine the development vector of social and economic systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers normative dimensions of the memory of Ukrainians and the problem related to the post soviet model of memory in Ukrainian society. The author emphasizes the social and cultural determinants of the process of formation and development of soviet model of memory, its conceptualization in the Soviet and Post soviet world. The analysis is centered on the clash of European and post soviet discourses in the context of the conflict of identities. The paper raises some general problems regarding these discourses as well as the development of values within the antonymic memory frames in the context of its belonging to certain socio-cultural traditions, its compatibility with the dimensions of morality, the observance of Low, social responsibility, solidarity and openness too changes. Sintering the different approaches to the values, experience of formation and evolution social institutions, it also explores the role of Central European changes in the process of memory reconstruction in Ukraine. The paper considers cultural and law foundations of social reconstruction and problems related to historical foundation of different grope and communities. The article emphasizes that the lack of legal consciousness, disrespect for the law, the spread of rooted traditions of revolutionary purposefulness and the post soviet stile telephone justice are the serious obstacle for changes of post soviet frame and changes within European Union. In this context the aim of social groups is oriented to their historical memory transformation as well as the development of common European experience, symbolic and values heritage. At the same time the role of civil society as European foundation for historical changes is analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines trends in the development of joint criminal activity because of worsening socio-political crisis in Ukraine. The most dangerous manifestation of complicity in the crime today -- is separatist activities in Crimea and other regions of Ukraine. It is proved that group or collective activity (spontaneous -- in the commission of criminal acts crowd, or organized -- in the commission of crimes by criminal organizations as a hierarchically structured robust criminal associations) are the forms of joint criminal activity. It is determined that the increased risk of public crimes, which is a necessary complicity, is taken into account in the design of the main elements of a crime, because the forced character provides a joint commission of a criminal act. Solution to the «actual compatibility», which in some sense similar to complicity is proposed in the article. At the legislative level by amending the changes to Art. 26 of the Criminal Code liability for actual participation (joint) for causing harm to the victim with violence should be addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discourse of Heidegger studies in contemporary Ukraine proves insufficient attention to the world legacy in understanding and interpreting complex thinking of the great German philosopher. In order not to yield the temptations of direct reading, we are advancing the imperative of precise mediation of historical research of Heidegger's philosophy by methods and instruments, which would conform with the actual context of philosophical process worldwide. This article aims to accomplish logical reconstruction of the interspace between discourses of Martin Heidegger and Theodore Adorno. This interspace of the potential dialogue between the two philosophers can be seen not as a gap but rather a joint of one and the same thought being developed in two opposite directions. Adornian approach to understanding Heidegger's thinking is viewed as amethodological model for the contemporary needs of the historiographical hermeneutics of Heidegger's philosophy. In the terms of ideological criticism Heideggerian conceptuality assume the form of a jargon, which stylistically derives from archaistic tendencies of the late Romanticism. Unlike P. Bourdieu, Adorno does not aim to reveal the social background of this proximity between existential philosophy and cultural conservatism of the Weimar epoch, but rather he persists in deconstructing the key concepts of Heidegger's philosophy, so that he would reveal its neutralizing andmetaphysical effects. In Adorno's transcription of the difference between onticity and ontology, the latter appears as a form of reification, and consequently as a philosophical form of ideology preoccupied with the conservative claims to preserve the existing order. The conservative move of Heidegger's logic consists in subjugation of Dasein to being, where being is conceptually charged as a secularized deity. Heidegger's possible response to Adorno's invectives should certainly avoid Heideggerian language. It is necessary to obtain an outer position to both discourses, if we want to elicit novel forms of thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to assess the thirty-year effort of the Children's Medical Care Foundation (CMCF) in Poland and Ukraine and identify the main determinants of success and limitations of the program. Using the diffusion of innovations theory as a guide for assessment, this study discusses the most common themes associated with barriers to knowledge dissemination and innovation implementation that CMCF trainees face, or have faced, in both countries. The data collected suggest that training through the CMCF has resulted in knowledge diffusion that has led to positive health outcomes for infants and children in both Poland and Ukraine; however, a large gap still exists between knowledge acquisition and the translation of knowledge into practice through the dissemination of innovative methods, particularly in regard to Ukraine. In light of the economic, political, and social barriers CMCF confronts, this article aims to provide options for the reinvention and modernization of the program's focus, as it pertains to Poland and Ukraine. Suggestions are offered for tailoring the CMCF's objectives to each country separately, while maintaining sustainability through increased collaboration and rapid knowledge diffusion. This study used face-to-face interviews in a qualitative methods approach among former CMCF trainees in the specializations of neonatology and pediatric surgery. [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]

This paper attempts to create an overview of the Ukraine twenty years after independence by presenting prevailing conceptual narrative models of Ukraine employed by Ukrainian and foreign experts. Based on the analysis of 58 interviews of Ukrainian political and intellectual elites and foreign experts, the study revealed several categories of conceptual narrative models employed by respondents: (1) a state without a national idea and a common identity; (2) a country in an unfinished transition and degradation; (3) a divided society; and (4) Ukraine as a colony or "wild capitalism". The analysis of these categories helps to assess conflict potential in Ukraine and discuss some ideas for conflict prevention and resolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 1991, the absence of the concept of a Ukrainian nation and national identity has led to a controversial, often ambivalent process of identity formation. The aim of this paper is to analyze and map the widely shared concepts about national identity that exist in Ukrainian society after 20 years of independence. Analysis of 43 interviews with Ukrainian political and intellectual elites reveals five different shared narratives: (1) dual identity; (2) being pro-Soviet; (3) a fight for Ukrainian identity; (4) a recognition of Ukrainian identity; and (5) a multicultural-civic concept. Each narrative is characterized by three main features: a coherent structure with strong internal logic and justification of its legitimacy; connection to a specific conception of power and morality; and an opposition to other narratives. All these features lead to the perception of society as a zero-sum game where one narrative must prevail over all others. At the same time, all these features ensure that there can be neither an overwhelming victory of one narrative over others nor a satisfying compromise between them. The results shed light on the complex process of narrative construction of identity and power in newly independent states. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This main focus of the article is an analysis of Ukraine two decades after it became an independent state through ten factors that have remained constant features of Ukrainian life. The first factor is low public trust in state institutions and the wide gulf between elites and state on the one hand and the public on the other. A second factor is the striving by political forces to monopolize political and economic power for the sake of power and self-enrichment - not for the conducting of reforms. The third factor is threats to democracy under eastern Ukrainian Presidents Leonid Kuchma and Viktor Yanukovych. The fourth factor is the low quality and ideological amorphousness of political parties. The fifth factor is the absence of political will and re-occurrence of missed opportunities; a prominent example of which is the Viktor Yushchenko presidency. The sixth factor is the domination of elite greed and rapaciousness over pursuit of the national interest and national security. The most egregious example of this corruption is in the energy sector which western Ukrainians have dominated (It's a Gas: Funny business in the Turkmen-Ukraine Gas Trade, 2006). A seventh constant factor is the prevalence of virtual over actual policies and the non-fulfillment of domestic obligations which leads to low public trust in state institutions. The eighth factor is an imitation of integration into Euro-Atlantic structures because virtual policies lead to inconsistent and multi-vector foreign policies. Virtual policies make it difficult for European and American governments to engage with the Ukrainian authorities because they rarely fulfill their obligations. The ninth factor is eastern Ukrai- nian naivety about Russia, regardless of whether it is democratic or authoritarian, that pursues hard-nosed geopolitical goals, a naivety that applies to Kuchma in 1994 as much as to Yanukovych in 2010. The tenth factor, the Russia factor, is Russia's inability to accept Ukraine's sovereignty or territorial integrity. Both eastern and western Ukrainian have been unable to fashion responsive policies to deal with Russia's unacceptance of Ukraine and its hard-nosed geopolitical goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the impact of national identity on democratization and market reforms in Russia and Ukraine. We develop a concept of hegemonic national identity and demonstrate its role in Russian and Ukrainian post-communist political development. The article argues that Russia’s slide toward authoritarianism was to an important degree an outcome of the notions of national identity adopted by the main political players and society at large. In Ukraine, on the other hand, a hegemonic identity failed to emerge and the public discussion of issues of national identity led to the adoption of much more liberal and democratic notions of identity by a considerable part of the political elite. Adoption of this more liberal identity, in turn, was one of the main reasons for the Orange Revolution. The main theoretical implications of this argument are as follows: (a) choices of national identity profoundly affect the prospects for democracy in the newly democratizing states; (b) institutions do shape identities; (c) elites’ preference for (or opposition to) liberal democracy is not simply a consequence of their understanding of their self-interest in gaining and preserving power but also is dependent to a significant extent on their choices of political identity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses ethnographic studies of Russia and Ukraine in the period from 1991 to 2011, after the fall of the Soviet Union, from an anthropological perspective. Topics include a discussion of the methodologies of the fields of ethnography and anthropology, and the role of the researcher in maintaining a conversation with the informant, or participant, while gathering research; the methodology and debates which came up as a result of the fall of the Soviet Union, and its particular methodologies of gaining ethnographic information; and the primary themes that have arisen in research since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

As a reaction to totalitarian constraints, after the break-up of the Soviet Union an astounding eruption and incorporation of sexually explicit imagery and iconography into diverse cultural forms occurred in Ukraine. These newly emerging discursive practices subverted the prescribed and officially enforced prudery of the sterilized Soviet society, which profoundly eroded any comfortable sense of the body in the sphere of representations that constitute social identity. While examining Yurko Pokalchuk's Ukrainian "foundational" pornographic fictions, this article explores how the writer's representations of sexuality are articulated through the dual discourse of erotic desire and transgression, focusing on the link between sexual transgression, the transgression of conventional discursive norms and regimes, and the subversion of social values, all of which are working against various social and cultural fixities. Pokalchuk's "erotomaniac" fictions, radically departing from totalitarian paradigms persistently promoted by socialist realist literature, are capable of invoking transgression through their imbrication of the public and private discourses of power and pleasure, of politics and the erotic. By employing the pornographic--the consumption of which in itself is still widely regarded as a socially transgressive practice--as the engine of transgression, he releases the sexual bodies that have been securely kept in the closet of dominant ideologies and literary conventions, public morals and societal prohibitions, uncertainties and self-censorship, into the representational sphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the results of qualitative research conducted among representatives of young Russian-speaking intelligentsia in Lviv. After introducing the historical background and the current language situation of the city, it examines the role and status of the minority and majority languages in the language practices of the interviewees. Other issues addressed in this text are cultural and ethnic/national identifications, and their relationship with language practice and language identification. The results of the research illustrate that in this particular group of interviewees, there was a tendency to integrate into the majority Ukrainian culture, and in some cases, to change identification. For some, cultural identification was double and did not always correspond with an ethnic or national identification; however, another part of the group preserved both language and ethnic distinction. Also of importance was the existence of a group with a marginal identification, in this case those who felt neither Russian nor Ukrainian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is an analysis of the ongoing language debate in Ukraine. I assert that in Ukraine, unlike in Belgium or Canada to which Ukraine is often compared, the substance of language politics does not lie in opposition between language groups or between their representatives. In fact, due to the absence of clearly defined language groups, political discussions concerning language in Ukraine are not a symptom of the language structuring, but its main agent. The heated political debates regarding languages are not driven by divergent interests or group attitudes, but by conflicting agendas for the protection of languages. Therefore, in the article I emphasize the core positions of the discourses — the presentations of the language groups and their agendas. This includes both the Russophile and the Ukrainophile camps, in which one may discern various visions and action plans of the language groups that these camps claim to represent. As the analysis of their arguments shows, tensions in the language sphere lie not only in their conflicting agendas of language grouping from the standpoint of one language, Russian or Ukrainian, but in the competition concerning the very identity and even existence of the represented groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contemporary trends in the processes of codification of Ukrainian are influenced by numerous different factors. Today's rise of activity in the sphere of language reform is an attempt to resolve rather old cultural and ideological conflicts. Ukrainian linguistic purism mostly manifests itself not in the elimination of lexical borrowings, but in a negative attitude toward bookish elements on a stylistic level. At the same time, in orthography, the struggle for language purity is concentrated on the transliteration of borrowings from Greek, Latin, and other European languages. Whether they focus on the redistribution of stylistic variants or variants of loanword spelling, the language ideologies discussed in this article symbolically underscore cultural distances. An analysis of cultural models and language ideologies associated with them bears witness to the particular role of the romantic and European models in the history of Standard Ukrainian. These models are aimed at reaffirming and consolidating the separatist, divergent function of Standard Ukrainian as one of the fundamental means of supporting the Ukrainian national identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes perceptions of the language situation and reported language practices in the Eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. The article utilizes Pierre Bourdieu's concept of legitimate language to analyze a complex language situation in which several languages may be designated as legitimate. This term may not only refer to a language that is endorsed by state institutions, but also to a variety that one is expected to use in certain settings, i.e., the language variety that is seen as constituting the norm. The article demonstrates that the Ukrainian language can be a salient marker of national identification, but that Russian is considered appropriate in most domains. The concepts of identification and utility are introduced, as they may add to an understanding of how the notion of a legitimate language is constructed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1991, Ukrainian independence opened an important theoretical channel for debating the status of its women. The people's collective memory of an ancient matriarchy generated a neo-matriarchal mythology which has been transformed into a delusional ideology that legitimizes female subordination, in the name of her alleged empowerment. Fieldwork in Ukraine -- annual visits, including travel from one end of the country to another in official capacities, and many extended stays in Ukraine, as a scholar, researcher, educator and participant in key events, provided opportunities for exchanging views with countless people from many walks of life throughout the country. Participation in a host of programs - television 'specials' on gender, seminars, retreats, workshops and conferences, designed to raise the consciousness of women and men alike -- provided an array of opportunities to observe at first hand the way that today's women construct individual identity. Extensive research in the press (many runs of daily newspapers, including Den', in Kyiv, and Vysoky Zamok in Lviv, and women's journals such as the widely read Zhinka, among others) added further insights. Television viewing, popular publications collected habitually during my numerous visits to Ukraine, copies of documents contributed by my Ukrainian friends and colleagues, outdoor advertising, posters and intimate gatherings at the homes of likeminded women, all played a part in the formation of my impressions of Ukrainian women's inferior status. In this paper I use my findings to explore the conflicting discourses on women's alleged empowerment, and the essentialist constraints an their self-realization, together with measures adopted to date on changing gender stereotypes and promoting equal rights and opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the relationship between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Ukraine's military. The author reflects on the transformation agenda of NATO and reform challenges for the Ukrainian military. It is suggested that NATO's leadership favors the accession of Ukraine. The article traces the transformation of NATO from a collective defense organization to a collective security organization following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Other topics include political stability in Ukraine, mission identification, and operational effectiveness.

The author reflects on the social and economic impact of the crisis in Ukraine on other European countries.

Abstract: Using an original survey of adolescents in post-communist Russia and Ukraine, this study analyzes attitudes toward the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The results demonstrate how contextual factors – the republic''s position within the former Soviet Union and prior history of colonization – affect the level of nostalgia among the young generation. Based upon semi-structured interviews with adolescents, the study identifies sources of positive and negative attitudes toward the Soviet demise. Furthermore, the research reveals cross-national differences in the relationship between Soviet nostalgia and national pride. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article discusses the educational system reform in Ukraine following its independence in the early 1990s. Factors influencing educational reform include nation building, the effort to build nationalism and national identity in a newly legitimate country, democratization, the call by the Council of Europe and human rights groups for the decentralization and local reform of the educational system, and globalization, the awareness that an educational system must build the economy to be competitive internationally. It is noted that roughly half of Ukraine's population speaks Russian, while the other half speaks Ukrainian, raising the difficulty of nation building. While most of the educational system retained the Soviet centralized structure, higher education found more freedom.

Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, migrant labor has become an increasingly important source of income for workers in the southwest Zakarpattia region of Ukraine. This article explores how locally constructed meanings of migrant labor emerge through bilingual verbal play in narratives focused on cultural differences between Zakarpattia villagers' life at home and the situations and people they encounter abroad. In my analysis of jokes and humorous narratives about migrant labor gathered in the field I focus on narrators' use of bivalent and near-bivalent words and phrases as a resource for the expression and representation of the complex relationship of villagers toward their position in the post-socialist cultural, linguistic, and economic landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the relationship between the United States and the nations of Central Asia. After 9/11, the United States' influence in the region increased, as it dispensed money and aid. But as focus has turned from rebuilding Afghanistan to Iraq, many nations felt either neglected or became afraid they would be the next target of regime change, particularly after peaceful revolutions in Georgia and Ukraine.

The article discusses social and political developments in Ukraine in the post-Communist era. The country is seen as moving in the direction of a civil society modeled on the European, democratic example, described as focused on individual freedom and dignity, and away from the Eurasian or Russian model, described as authoritarian and statist. However, Ukrainian society is seen as split between those who support democracy and civil rights, and those--especially ethnic Russians--who still look to "Eurasian values." The importance, therefore, of consolidating a parliamentary democracy that is transparent and accountable to voters and a free market economic system that avoids corruption and abuse is discussed, with reference to agricultural and industrial policy, and relations with Russia.

The article discusses the socioeconomic problems expected to develop in Ukraine through the mid-21st century based on demographic trends since the 1990s. Statistics on fertility, mortality, and international migration are analyzed, along with their combined result of declining population levels. Differing mortality rates across age groups, and between men and women, are discussed. Next, four projection scenarios for the future population of Ukraine from 2005 to 2040 are presented, based on varying government policy options.

The article discusses the nation building project in Ukraine, which is complicated by regional and national identities. Research suggests that regional difference is not a transitionary situation and nation building is not a homogenizing and assimilating process. The social resistance to Europeanization stems from the older generation wanting to keep their cultural ties with Russia.

Having become an independent nation, Ukraine has come face to face with a series of problems that define its priority directions of development and the nature and structure of the contradictions on whose resolution the fate of Ukrainian statehood itself depends. Among the problems arising constantly in the process of nation building in Ukraine one of the most important is the problem of ethnonational relations. So ethnonational problems in the emergence of Ukrainian statehood occupy a highly important place. First and foremost there is the topicality of the "regionalization" of Ukraine, which still does not have a legal expression, perhaps with the exception of the Crimea, but rather is demonstrated by various traits of the linguistic, religious, and political orientation of various regions of Ukraine. Another factor is the lobbying for the idea of "federalization" of Ukraine at various levels and in various forms as the de jure recognition of the existence of the specific ethnolinguistic, economic, and cultural nature of the territories of Ukraine.

The article focuses on socio-economic conditions in Ukraine. In less than two years Ukraine will celebrate the tenth anniversary of its independence from the Soviet Union. If little improves between now and then, the country will have little to celebrate. Viewed as a slow reformer by most observers, Ukraine has yet to achieve macroeconomic stability and shows few signs of' any appreciable economic growth, let alone political and national integration. Ukraine's plentiful natural resources also allowed the country's economic system to be characterized more by redistribution than production during the many decades of socialist rule. The revival of the Ukrainian nationalist movement led to the peaceful national independence of the country in August 1991, thanks to the pragmatic and skillful leadership of the chairman of the Supreme Council of the Soviet Republic of Ukraine, Leonid Kravchuk. Kravchuk was then immediately elected as Ukraine's first president from 1991 to 1994; he set about on a wide state-building policy and tempted to reorient the country's international policy.