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editorial vault |
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Uploaded on Friday 10 July, 2015 to the world order |
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War-torn Ukraine: Ukrainian/Russian fallout post Soviet era |
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Conflicts are inevitable when parties are interdependent in a relationship. Ukraine used to have a manageable relationship with Russia, up until things turned sour by the turn of the century. When independence was ceded to Ukraine in 1991, a gradual crescendo of divisions set in between east and west Ukraine. These divisions hit a climax during the 2004 presidential elections, with the west eying a rapprochement with the Occident in order to disconnect from Russia and fulfil nationalistic ambitions, and, the east preferring a return to the status quo ante of deeper ties with Russia.
The Orange Revolution of 2004 set the stage for what would follow. After the nationalist camp won the presidential elections that year, hopes were running high that Ukraine would join the common market and forge closer ties with the European Union and the United States. Those hopes ultimately faded away like a Fata Morgana on the horizon.
Dysfunctional and mired in corruption, embattled Ukraine has become ever more impoverished, with GDP contracting at circa 15% year-on-year. The symptoms thus far reveal a discernable prognosis—short-sighted leadership and a crumbling world order. |
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