Criminals, Business and State in Post-Soviet Ukraine

Abstract

On the thirtieth commemoration of Ukraine's independence, the present condition of the country highlights the necessity of contemplating the historical trajectory that post-Soviet Ukrainian society has traversed. This is not merely a retrospective consideration encompassing the past and present, but also, perhaps more crucially, a forward-looking assessment of Ukraine's future. While Ukraine exhibited a sense of cohesion and significant societal integration shortly after declaring independence, as evidenced by the outcomes of the All-Ukrainian referendum conducted on December 1, 1991, the year 2021 reveals a notable departure from these characteristics (State Archival Service of Ukraine, 2013). Present-day post-Soviet Ukrainian society has become fragmented, marked by discernible social fault lines. As Samuel Huntington (1996) observes, Ukraine is a nation divided along cultural lines, with two distinct civilizations. The fault line between these civilizations, demarcating the West from Orthodoxy, has bisected the nation for centuries (Huntington, 1996). Over the post-Soviet era, Ukraine has experienced a profound transformation in the role of the state, which has rapidly diminished in its capacity to effectively manage the fundamental pillars supporting society. Throughout this period, Ukrainian society has grappled with an enduring systemic crisis. The erstwhile Soviet framework of existence in Ukraine was dismantled, yet efforts to establish a novel system predicated on principles like market economy, human rights, and democracy have encountered significant challenges. While the contemporary Ukrainian society may project an appearance of stability, it conceals vulnerabilities to the deleterious trends stemming from its transformation, which are driven by three primary factors: the state, business entities, and criminal elements.