Ukrainians believe 1999 and 2000 were most difficult years (10/15/00)

Ukrainians believe 1999 and 2000 were most difficult years

by Jan Maksymiuk
RFE/RL Poland, Belarus and Ukraine Report

PRAGUE - A poll conducted by the Ukrainian Center for Economic and Political Studies from July 28 to August 10 among 2,012 Ukrainians showed that nearly half of Ukrainian citizens believe 1999 and 2000 have been the most difficult years in the nine-year history of Ukraine's independence.

Of those polled, 26.5 percent pointed to 2000 as the most difficult year, 22.6 percent to 1999, 7.8 percent to 1998, and 6.6 percent to 1991.

The poll found that 32.3 percent of Ukrainians would like to emigrate from Ukraine and settle in another country, while 61.5 percent said they would prefer to stay at home. The difficult economic situation was quoted as the main reason for leaving Ukraine forever (81.7 percent).

The main reason for the dire economic situation was believed to be the lack of professionalism of the country's leadership (36.6 percent), the disruption of old economic ties (25.8 percent), and the non-observance of laws (13.8 percent).

The poll also found that Ukrainians are very distrustful of their political elite: 72.1 percent said they cannot think of anyone who could be given the title "the conscience of the Ukrainian nation," while 2.7 percent suggested Prime Minister Viktor Yuschenko, 2 percent Communist Party leader Petro Symonenko, 1.7 percent Minister of Culture Bohdan Stupka and 1.5 percent President Leonid Kuchma.

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