Trust in state institutions Orange revolution Corruption

Ukraine’s first three presidents broadly supported similar goals in national identity and foreign policy but they differed in attitudes to democracy. Leonid Kravchuk and Viktor Yushchenko, with voter bases in western-central Ukraine, supported democratization while threats to Ukraine’s democracy have twice come from Eastern Ukrainian Presidents Kuchma and Yanukovych. The election of Yanukovych launched a counter-revolution against many of the underlying assumptions underpinning the Ukrainian state that were promoted by Ukraine’s first three presidents, particularly in national identity and foreign policies. These changes have been coupled with Ukraine’s democratic regression, the diminution of national sover-eignty, and growing regional divisions. Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Communist and Post-Communist Studies xxx (2012) 1–10Ukraine’s sovereignty or territorial integrity. Both eastern and western Ukrainian have been unable to fashion responsive policies to deal with Russia’s un-acceptance of Ukraine and its hard-nosed geopolitical goals