From a Soviet Past to a European Future? Political and Economic Developments in Ukraine

After the initial enthusiasm, which accompanied the Orange Revolution,

phased out, Ukraine arrived at a crossroad on its way from a Soviet past

to a European future. Macroeconomic performance benefited from

reforms implemented by prime minister Yushchenko and from a

favourable external environment. Subsequent political turmoil and the

ending boom in steel prices revealed Ukraine’s delay in institutional

development. The paper compares Ukraine with other eastern European

and CIS countries on the basis of internationally comparable indicators.

All in all, there seems to be not much reason to be optimistic about a

straight way for Ukraine into the European community.

Kiel Institute Expert