УКРАЇНА « UKRAJÍNA »
— Also: Украина « Ukraina ».
— English: Ukraine.
— Seat of government: Киев « Kiev » / Київ « Kijív ».
— Status: Democratic.
— Structure: Parliament (Верховна Рада « Verxovna Rada ») is elected through geographical constituencies and party-list proportional representation, and must approve the ministers; the president is the head of government, elected directly.
— Governing party: Слуга Народу « Sluga Narodu »; supported by За Майбутнє « Za Maĭbutné » and Довіра « Dovíra ».
— Heads of government: Владимир Зеленский « Vladimir Zelenskiĭ », СН « SN », president (since 2019); Денис Шмигаль « Denis Šmigalĵ », prime minister (since 2020).
— Other parliamentary parties: Європейська Солідарність « Évropeĭsĵka Solídarnístĵ »; Платаформа за Жизнь и Мир « Plataforma za Žisnĵ i Mir »; Батьківщина « Batĵkívŝina »; Відновлення України « Vídnovlennja Ukrajíni »; Справедливість « Spravedlivístĵ »; Голос « Golos ».
— Assessment: The recognized territory, now divided, has been largely polarized between a west and north oriented towards Western Europe and speaking Українська « Ukrajínsĵka », and an east and south oriented towards Россия « Rossija » and speaking Русский « Russkiĭ ». President Леонид Кучма « Leonid Kučma » (1994-2005) met with opposition to his autocracy, in part for a scandal involving the murder of journalist Георгій Ґонґадзе « Georgíĭ Ġonġadze ». An election drama in 2004 including the obvious fixing of a presidential vote by the outgoing Кучма « Kučma » and prime minister Виктор Янукович « Viktor Janukovič » (2002-5, 2006-7, president 2010-4), both easterners, in favor of Янукович « Janukovič » ended with the inauguration of opposition leader Віктор Ющенко « Víktor Juŝenko » (2005-10; PM 1999-2001) as president (known as the Помаранчева Революція « Pomarančeva Revoljucíja »). But parliament became the most powerful element of state under reforms passed that year, and elections for a new parliament were similarly divisive. The coalition that elected Ющенко « Juŝenko » split over personality and the division of power, particularly between Ющенко « Juŝenko » and prime minister Юлія Тимошенко « Julíja Timošenko » (2005, 2007-10), and Янукович « Janukovič », whose Партия Регионов « Partija Regionov » won a plurality in general elections in 2006, 2007, and 2012, again became prime minister in 2006. After disputes with Ющенко « Juŝenko » over constitutional issues, snap polls were agreed; the reunited coalition of the Помаранчева Революція « Pomarančeva Revoljucíja » (chiefly Блок Юлії Тимошенко « Blok Julíjí Timošenko » and Блок Наша Україна – Народна Самооборона « Blok Naša Ukrajína – Narodna Samooborona ») made Тимошенко « Timošenko » prime minister. A 2010 presidential election ended with a runoff between Янукович « Janukovič » and Тимошенко « Timošenko », which Янукович « Janukovič » won; Тимошенко « Timošenko » was then replaced with Янукович « Janukovič » ally Николай (Микола) Азаров « Nikolaĭ (Mikola) Azarov » (2010-4). Also in 2010, the constitutional court disallowed the redistribution of power to parliament, giving the presidency again the control of the government. Партия Регионов « Partija Regionov » won another plurality in the 2012 parliamentary election. In 2014, Янукович « Janukovič » shifted policy away from an EU orientation towards Россия « Rossija », prompting protests; when he used force on those small protests, much larger protests (Євромайдан « Évromaĭdan ») eventually drove him from office, replaced by pro-Western politicians, with Петро Порошенко « Petro Porošenko » (2014-9) as president and Арсеній Яценюк « Arseníĭ Jacenjuk » (2014-6) as prime minister. This prompted rebellion among Русский « Russkiĭ »-speakers, intervention by Россия « Rossija » itself in Крым « Krym » (now formally annexed) and the Донбасс « Donbass » (then effectively independent), and new elections in which Western-oriented politicians dominated. Володимир Гройсман « Volodimir Groĭsman » (2016-9) replaced Яценюк « Jacenjuk » as prime minister. In 2019, television actor Зеленский « Zelenskiĭ » won a plurality in the first round of presidential elections, and then defeated Порошенко « Porošenko » in a landslide in the runoff; Зеленский « Zelenskiĭ » then called new parliamentary elections, and his party (named for his television show) won an absolute majority of seats, and Олексій Гончарук « Oleksíĭ Gončaruk » (2019-20) became prime minister, later succeeded by Шмигаль « Šmigalĵ ». Россия « Rossija » invaded a second time in 2022, seizing much land in the south and east, and briefly in the north as well, before retreating after a failure to take Киев « Kiev ».
— FH: 3-2, free. Econ: 6.94 (53), flawed democracy.
— Updated: 2022 July 16.
O.T. FORD