The Meaning of the Orange Revolution for democratization in Ukraine

Narančasta revolucija u Ukrajini 2004. godine za prozapadno i prodemokratski orijentirane građane i Zapad tada je tumačena kao pobjeda demokracije u toj zemlji. Proruski orijentirano stanovništvo i Rusija predstavljali su je kao državni udar. Ovaj se rad bavi značenjem Narančaste revolucije za demokratizaciju Ukrajine. O stupnju realizacije njenih ciljeva govori se kroz prikaz izbornih događaja iz 2004,. naknadnih promjena vlasti i Druge revolucije. Posebna se pozornost poklanja političkom djelovanju Viktora Juščenka, Julije Timošenko i Viktora Janukoviča kao vođa političkih stranaka koje su najzaslužnije za provođenje ili odmak od ideja o demokratizaciji Ukrajine kojima je vođena Narančasta revolucija.Ukraine's "Orange Revolution" in 2004 was interpreted differently by the country's Western- and Eastern-oriented populations and by their international counterparts. The West saw it as a win for democracy, whereas the pro-Russian population and Russia presented it as a coup d'état. The present paper addresses the significance of the Orange Revolution in the democratization of Ukraine. The degree to which its goals have been realized is considered in the aftermath of the elections in 2004, the subsequent multiple changes in the government, and the Second Revolution. Special attention is paid to the political actions of Viktor Yushchenko, Yulia Tymoshenko, and Viktor Yanukovych, the leaders of the most prominent parties at the time. They were most responsible for realisation or the departure from the goals of democratization of Ukraine that motivated the Orange Revolution