KYIV – An overwhelming 92 percent of citizens of Ukraine consider themselves ethnic Ukrainians, according to a recent survey by the Razumkov Center. Six percent of the respondents consider themselves ethnic Russians, and 1.5 percent cite other ethnic groups. This is the highest recorded percentage of Ukrainian self-identification since Ukraine regained independence. Sociologists say Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its aggression in the Donbas accelerated the self- identification process.
According to the 2001 census, 78.8 percent citizens called themselves Ukrainian; in 2015 (according to the Razumkov Center) it was 86 percent; and today it is 92 percent. According to the most recent survey, which was conducted in March, the percentage of those who consider themselves Ukrainian is highest among the youngest respondents – age 18 to 22 – at 96.2 percent. Among those over the age of 60 it is less than 90 percent.
The deputy director general of the Razumkov Center, Yurii Yakymenko, cited the reasons for the leap: the number of ethnic Russians in Ukraine was reduced after the Crimea annexation and the Donbas occupation, and Russian aggression affected people who considered themselves as belonging to two nationalities – they now consider themselves Ukrainians.
Biethnicity of Ukraine’s population
The survey also focused on the problems of biethnicity and multiple ethnicities as an aspect of ethnic identity formation. 74 percent of respondents in Ukraine feel they belong to only one nationality, 12 percent cited two or more nationalities; 6 percent said they do not feel as if they belong to any nationality; and 8 percent were undecided.
While 77 percent ethnic Ukrainians feel they belong to only one nationality, only 39 percent ethnic Russians feel the same: two or more nationalities – respectively, 10 percent and 30 percent, not any nationality – 5 percent and 20 percent respectively.
Most respondents who feel they belong to two or more nationalities live in the Donbas (27 percent), Ukraine’s southern (24 percent) or eastern (19 percent) regions, while in the country’s western and central regions that figure is only 6 percent.
Some residents of these regions do not feel they belong to any nationality: 20 percent in the Donbas, 10 percent in the south, 12 percent in the east, 2 percent in the west and 1 percent in central Ukraine.
“Thus, along with biethnicity or polyethnicity, we can also mention either denying or distancing oneself from ethnic self-identification, which (along with bi- or polyethnicity) in Ukraine is more characteristic of ethnic Russians,” sociologists explained.
The question of native language
Significantly, 68 percent of citizens consider Ukrainian their native language; 17 percent cite both the Ukrainian and Russian languages; 14 percent – Russian only, 0.7 percent – other languages.
In the western regions, 93 percent of respondents consider Ukrainian their native language. That figure in central Ukraine is 84 percent, in the south – 42 percent, in the east – 36 percent, and in the Donbas – 27 percent.
The proportion of those who consider Russian their native language is 2 percent in the west, 6 percent in the central region, 31 percent in the south, 24 percent in the east and 42 percent in the Donbas. The proportion of those who cited both Ukrainian and Russian is 3 percent in the west, 10 percent in the central region, 26 percent in the south, 38 percent in the east, and 29 percent in the Donbas.
The Ukrainian identity factor is associated with more frequent use of Ukrainian, said Yurii Yakymenko. Among ethnic Ukrainians, 73 percent consider Ukrainian their native language and 18 percent cite both Ukrainian and Russian equally.
Restoration of the USSR
According to a previous survey by the Razumkov Center conducted in November 2016, two-thirds (65 percent) of Ukrainians were not in favor of the restoration of the Soviet Union; 13 percent said they were in favor; and 22 percent answered “Yes, but I understand that under current conditions this is impossible.” Among ethnic Ukrainians, 69 percent answered that they did want the Soviet Union to be restored; among ethnic Russians that number was 39 percent.
According to the latest survey, 27 percent of respondents in Ukraine consider themselves citizens of the former USSR. Residents of the south and east mostly consider themselves citizens of the former Soviet Union – 48 percent and 41 percent, respectively. In other regions the proportion of those who identify as Soviet citizens ranges from 17 percent to 21 percent.
The survey was conducted by the Razumkov Center on March 3-9. It included 2,016 respondents in all regions of Ukraine except the occupied territories.