Ukraine’s Political Transition

Let's evaluate Ukraine's political transformation until nowadays. So Table 1 (see the previous post) presents the main indicators of the political institutional quality for Ukraine, Russia and the former Soviet Union (FSU). An annual research report "Nations in Transit" released by Freedom House in June 2009 is the primary data source. According to the report, Ukraine's quality of political institutions is above that of the FSU and Russia. Ukraine has a more independent judiciary than Russia and the rest of the FSU. The independence of mass media and the development of the civil society are very close to the levels in developed nations. The democratic institutions at both state and province are also of better quality. The electoral process is very transparent and up to democratic standards. The rule of law, the civil and the political rights are much stronger in Ukraine than anywhere else in the FSU. Overall, Table 1 shows Ukraine as a free state with a consolidating democracy as compared to non-free and authoritarian Russia and the rest of the FSU. Ukraine is actually the freest state among the non-EU FSU countries.