NEWSLINK: Taking Measure Of The Ukrainian Mind-Set

[“Taking Measure Of The Ukrainian Mind-Set” – RFE/RL – rferl.org – October 25, 2014]

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty interviewed Kiev-based sociologist Iryna Bekeshkyna about unfolding conditions in Ukraine, back on the eve of recent national legislative elections:

How have Ukrainian attitudes toward the EU, Russia, and NATO changed? Is it possible to conduct opinion polls in the Donbas? And why is support for the Ukrainian Communist Party in decline?

Public enthusiasm over regime change has segued into an energetic public response to what is described as an undeclared war.

Iryna Bekeshkyna: The fact is that we can’t have a classic postrevolutionary syndrome here, because the revolution was immediately followed by military action and actually an undeclared war. So public enthusiasm has continued, only in a different form. According to our data, 35 percent of the population has given money to the army. That’s a lot. Twenty-five percent have helped refugees by donating food, clothes, etc. You can’t call this a romantic phase. It’s more that active members of the population realize that they have to support the government, at least in certain ways, while there’s a war on. If there’s wasn’t a war, these activists would be focusing their actions the other way around.

Attitudes reportedly are shifting with regard to NATO membership:

RFE/RL: How important are improved NATO ties for most Ukrainians?

Bekeshkyna: There’s been a dramatic change compared to last year. In recent years, people generally preferred the idea of neutral status. Neutrality had 45 to 50 percent support; NATO membership generally got between 12-14 percent. This year, support for the notion of neutral status has fallen by half. Now neutrality has 22 percent support and NATO membership has 44 percent. Support for a military alliance with Russia has fallen from 26 percent to 12. …

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Original full article from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – © 2014 RFE/RL, Inc. Article appeared at rferl.org/content/ukraine-taking-measure-mind-set/26655673.html