‘Two Ukraines’ Reconsidered: The End of Ukrainian Ambivalence?

Abstract

The 2014 Russo‐Ukrainian war, euphemistically called the ‘Ukraine crisis’, has largely confirmed, on certain accounts, a dramatic split of the country and people's loyalties between the proverbial ‘East’ and ‘West’, between the ‘Eurasian’ and ‘European’ ways of development epitomized by Russia and the European Union. By other accounts, however, it has proved that the Ukrainian nation is much more united than many experts and policymakers expected, and that the public support for the Russian invasion, beyond the occupied regions of Donbas and Crimea, is close to nil. This article does not deny that Ukraine is divided in many respects but argues that the main – and indeed the only important – divide is not between ethnic Russians and Ukrainians, or Russophones and Ukrainophones, or the ‘East’ and the ‘West’. The main fault line is ideological – between two different types of Ukrainian identity: non/anti‐Soviet and post/neo‐Soviet, ‘European’ and ‘East Slavonic’. All other factors, such as ethnicity, language, region, income, education, or age, correlate to a different degree with the main one. However divisive those factors might be, the external threat to the nation makes them largely irrelevant, bringing instead to the fore the crucial issue of values epitomized in two different types of Ukrainian identity.

Transformed by contested digital spaces? Social media and Ukrainian diasporic ‘selves’ in the wake of the conflict with Russia

“…For instance, from the early years of Ukraine's independence Mykola Riabchuk (1992) was developing the idea of ‘Two Ukraines’—two fundamentally different national groups united by one state. The Euromaidan and the subsequent conflict, however, have forced him to reconsider this idea and to focus on the values and social orientations rather than ethnicity, regional differences and linguistic identities (Riabchuk, 2015). Many other researchers have noted a turning trend towards creation of the Ukrainian political nation.…”

The Logic of Ethnic Responsibility and Progovernment Mobilization in East Ukraine Conflict

“…Notwithstanding popular claims that there are three major ethnic groups in present-day Ukraine, "Ukrainian-speaking Ukrainians," "Russian-speaking Ukrainians," and "Russians" (Miller, 1994, p. 1), there is plentiful evidence that "Russian-speaking" Ukrainians largely identify themselves as both Russians and Ukrainians (Pirie, 1996(Pirie, , p. 1080. Drawing on survey findings, Riabchuk (2015) observes that "only plurality of Ukrainians identified themselves primarily with Ukraine, whereas most of them defined their primary loyalties as either local, regional, residual Soviet, or supranational East Slavonic" (p. 145). In the same vein, Gentile (2015) concludes that based on survey findings, "[W]ith the exception of Crimea, most Russian-speakers in Ukraine identify as Russian-speaking Ukrainians, not as Russians" (p. 202).…”

“…A mounting evidence of Russian speakers involved in the conflict on the Ukrainian side began to emerge soon after the escalation of East Ukraine conflict in April to May 2014. As pointed by Riabchuk (2015), "Moscow encountered a fierce resistance of Ukrainian troops and volunteer battalions largely completed with the same proverbial 'Russians and Russophones'" (p. 148). Arel (2018) observed that "Russian is still fairly prevalent socially, including at the frontlines (many, if not most, battalions operate in Russian)" (p. 3).…”

A Brief Evaluation to Identify Level of Satisfaction of Art Therapy with Undergraduate Ukrainian Students

“…Since Ukraine gained independence in 1991, the shift from the collectivist socialist mindset of the Soviet era toward western capitalist neoliberal individualism has created identity issues for much of the Ukrainian population (Yankovsky 2011). Riabchuk (2015) posited that this division in cultural identity has proven problematic for the younger population, who are now trying to reconstruct the previous value systems in order to develop their own national identity that interconnects with global influences. This theory is reflected in the previous examples of the undergraduate students.…”