No. 6

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Ukraine between East and West

  • Jüri Tamm

    MP, chairman, the Estonia-Ukraine parliamentary group, Mõõdukad

Geographically and agriculturally well-endowed, Ukraine’s fertile lands have been scarred by devastating wars and revolutions, which is why peace and peaceable solution of domestic and foreign problems is such an important value for the country.

That this is a priority does not mean that there are no more political battles to be fought. Many initiatives lie in a state of partial completion due to the disorganized and amorphous state of affairs in society. Many aspects of democracy taken granted elsewhere are non-operational and a large part of the population does not apprehend their value and importance. The superficial Ukrainian democracy is convenient for the people in power and not very useful to the masses. It does a disservice to democracy in general. Only a civil society can dispel the ethos of subordination that ruled the land in the Soviet period.

The above problems can be overcome if society matures and implements its strongest aspects. This involves reviving the striving for freedom that lives on in the western parts of the country, which is reflected in the constitution drafted by Pylip Orlyk and which has not been seen for 300 years. It is the road of individual contributions, starting with expanding economic freedoms and continuing to greater freedom in society at large. European integration, in which Estonia plays a small part, will contribute its share toward this process. In the constitutional sphere, progress includes the idea of the civil society – a never-ending journey toward the goals.

Full article in Estonian

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