How Ukrainians View Their Orange Revolution: Public Opinion and the National Peculiarities of Citizenry Political Activities

Abstract

The from end of 2004 through beginning of 2005 was marked by enchanting events of Orange Revolution in Ukraine. The carnivallike Orange Revolution that broke out at end of November 2004 in Kyiv, as well as in other western and central Ukrainian cities, had transformed Ukraine from a grey-zone (T. Carothers's term) and marginal territory of world's political stage into one of most intriguing countries in world. The alternative blue (the color of opposite political camp) meetings and manifestations over eastern parts of Ukraine, predominantly in Donbas region, gave additional political traits to these sociopolitical events. Experts and researchers are now actively analyzing phenomenon of historic sociocultural changes in country,1 which had often been considered as a dependent geopolitical territory in shade of neighboring Russia, while its population had been regarded as politically inert and passive. History will undoubtedly highlight key points of Orange Revolution, its lessons, and its results. However, even now, it is obvious that these events demonstrate deep sociopolitical and cultural changes in huge post-Soviet Eurasian continent. The profound internal transformation of Ukrainian society prepared cultural and social ground for Orange Revolution.2 The various aspects in transformation of hybrid semiauthoritarian political regime under rule of L. Kuchma are comprehensively analyzed in works of Taras Kuzio,3 Paul D'Anieri,4 Lucan A. Way,5 and other experts. Thus, Ukrainian political events at end of 2004 sum up a of complicated and multidimensional Ukrainian transformation,6 and revolution itself was marked by numerous dimensions and tasks. In my opinion, characteristic of Orange Revolution and Yushchenko's victory stated by Taras Kuzio-that it was an event that brought together three revolutions in one: national, democratic, and anti-corruption7-makes sense.This article is an attempt to look at Orange Revolution not only from experts' point of view, but also from public opinion, examining nature and reasons for orange political action. I also examine some peculiarities of political activity of citizens during that period. The spectrum of public opinion about estimations and comprehension of Orange Revolution, analyzed in article, is chronologically traced to post-Orange of February-March 2005, when Institute of Sociology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, conducted its nationwide representative survey.* The statistical data designate yet complicate an ambiguous democratic consolidation process in Ukrainian society at its new postrevolution stage of development. It is obvious that public opinion on orange events will change along with process of further sociopolitical development in country. At time of writing this article (April-May 2005), there were comments about end of revolution's honeymoon period and even about it as treason.8 But even judging from short historical distance, public opinion was marked by diverse sociopolitical meanings and contexts. The orange project of social changes is still developing; its results and consequences are open and vague. It is still a question whether political gap between orange project and postcommunist past is radical or revolutionary enough. In other words, as Paul D'Anieri rightly indicates, the story of democratization in Ukraine is, at best, at a midpoint.9 But, Orange Revolution at least determined a new way of public political activity, formed new social experience, and integrated itself as a successful political mobilization of wide sections of population in a post-Soviet country.Postmodern Coup d'etat or National-Democratic Revolution?Participants and sympathizers of political events at end of 2004 (more than 20 percent of our poll respondents, who were in some way engaged in these events) regard them as Orange Revolution. …