KYIV – On January 22, Ukraine celebrated the 102nd anniversary of the Ukrainian National Republic’s declaration of independence and the 101st of the proclamation of the unification of all Ukrainian lands. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy used the occasion to reiterate what in recent weeks has become a leitmotif for him: the need for national consolidation and unity.
He had emphasized this theme – the urgency of constructing a modern Ukrainian political nation based on shared democratic values rather that ethnocentric ones – in his unconventional televised New Year’s address.
The publication on the eve of the January 22 celebrations of the results of a new survey on attitudes regarding national identity also provided an opportunity to take stock of where things stand and to better understand the context that Mr. Zelenskyy and his critics are addressing in their respective ways.
The Ukrainian president returned to his vision of how national unity should be promoted in an interview published by The Times of Israel on January 19. “It’s a question of how people with different history, with different attitudes, can live together in practice,” he explained.
“It is a very complicated and sensitive issue,” Mr Zelenskyy stressed. “There are heroes who are honored in the west and in the center of Ukraine; and there are other Ukrainians that have their own heroes and think otherwise. And I understand the different feelings. And that’s why I’ve said several times, very clearly: When we have so complicated a history, let’s build a common history. Let’s find those people whose names do not cause controversy in our present and in our future. Let’s name the monuments and streets for those people whose names do not provoke conflict… Let’s keep politics out of this issue.”
In his address on the Day of Unity, Mr. Zelenskyy acknowledged that the reaction to his comments on New Year’s Eve showed that “the theme of unity is sensitive for every Ukrainian.” He reminded his audience that, despite the “enthusiasm and inspiration” 101 years ago about the “chance to build a united and independent country,” the attempt failed. “The ambitions of politicians prevented them from achieving true state unity… Unity not in words, but in deeds.” He asked: More than a hundred years later, have Ukrainians drawn any conclusions from this story?
The main lesson for Ukraine he argued, is that “only together are we strong.” And in today’s world, “the sense of nation as a whole emerges not only due to common traditions, culture and religion.” There are also other critical values that should unite the nation, he continued: “Values of integrity and honesty. Good manners and tolerance. Values of freedom and democracy. The desire for economic welfare and prosperity. The desire to be wealthy. Values of respect for the law, private property and respect for one another.”
“I am Ukrainian,” Mr. Zelenskyy said, “because I live according to the law. Always ready to protect my homeland when needed. I am a role model for the post-Soviet space: in defense of my rights, protection of the freedom of speech, the rule of law, civil society, zero tolerance for corruption… Because I am a responsible citizen. I pay taxes… I support equal opportunities for men and women. I respect the rights of representatives of all national minorities and all religions.”
“A shared dream has always been a driver for us,” the president said. He underscored: “To be strong, one must become united. To become united, one must be strong.”
A nationwide survey
And what is the reality on the ground? Results from a nationwide survey called “The 101st Anniversary of Ukraine’s Unity: What Unites and Separates the Ukrainians Most” were presented at a news conference in Kyiv on January 21.
The survey was conducted in mid-December 2019 by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation and the sociological service of the Razumkov Center in all regions of Ukraine, except Crimea and occupied territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. A total of 2,017 respondents age 18 and over were interviewed; the poll’s margin of error does not exceed 2.3 percent. The survey was funded as part of the MATRA project of the Embassy of the Netherlands.
According to the survey, identification with the Ukrainian state has grown markedly since the Euro-Maidan, the Revolution of Dignity and Russia’s aggression – from 54 percent in December 2013 to 73 percent in December 2014.
“The overwhelming majority of the population of Ukraine (75 percent) considers themselves, first and foremost, Ukrainian citizens, and significantly fewer people, 16 percent of citizens, have chosen regional identification (belonging to a region, city or village). Moreover, national identification is prevalent in all regions of Ukraine: the south (84 percent), the center (78 percent), the west (76 percent) and the east (66 percent),” the study says. At the same time, 7 percent of the population in Ukraine’s eastern regions still consider themselves primarily to be citizens of the former Soviet Union.
Summarizing the findings, Irina Bekeshkina, the director of the Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation, told Hromadske Radio that same day that the majority of Ukrainians consider the main indicator of patriotism to be the love of their land (80 percent) and the readiness to defend it (64 percent), but consider combating corruption (21 percent) and paying taxes (30 percent) to be among the least important attributes.
The language issue remains highly sensitive, but the results of the survey suggest that it is not as divisive as some make out. Eighty-one percent of respondents agreed that the Ukrainian language is an important feature of Ukraine’s independence, and 80 percent agreed that during working hours all state leaders and civil servants should communicate in Ukrainian. Significantly, 56 percent of respondents unconditionally agreed with the second statement, while 24 percent said they are “more likely” to agree. Moreover, residents of all regions of Ukraine agreed about the official language of communication among civil servants: 96 percent in western Ukraine, 86 percent in the center, 71 percent in the southern regions, and 64 percent in Ukraine’s east.
A strong majority of Ukrainians, 69 percent of respondents, believe Ukrainian should remain the only official language, while only 15 percent support the status of the Russian language as official in some regions of Ukraine, and 12 percent believe Russian should be a second official language. At the same time, the majority believe the Russian language should not be restricted in any way in the private sphere.
The significant status of the Russian language is backed in the eastern regions, where there is support for Russian as a language of communication in private life, as well as recognition of Ukrainian as the state language. However, 24 percent support the possibility of Russian as an official language in the regions, and 31 percent are in favor of Russian becoming the second official language, the findings show. Most citizens also agree that officials should speak Ukrainian during working hours.
And as to the external sphere, some 64 percent of Ukrainians support accession to the European Union, the largest support being in in the western and central regions of Ukraine, at 90 percent and 70 percent, respectively. Support for EU membership also prevails in the south (44 percent) and the east (43 percent) of Ukraine. Nevertheless, a minority still favor joining the Eurasian Economic Union: 23 percent in the south and 24 percent in the east. An even larger group, 33 percent in both the south and the east, remains undecided.
As noted in the survey’s press release: “Since 2013, the share of citizens supporting EU membership has grown from 46 percent in December 2013 to 57 percent in December 2014, gradually increasing to 64 percent in December 2019. At the same time, the share of those who support joining the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan sharply decreased: from 36 percent in 2013 to 16 percent in 2014, continuing to decline to 13 percent in December 2019.”
What is particularly significant, according to the results of the poll, is that more than half of the population supports NATO membership for Ukraine. A total of 51 percent of Ukrainians now believe that joining NATO is the best security option for Ukraine – the highest share thus far recorded in opinion polls. Nevertheless, “Some 26 percent are in favor of non-aligned status, while support for a military alliance with Russia and other CIS countries stands at a 6 percent,” the survey revealed. The poll also confirmed that significant regional differences on the issue remain: NATO membership is supported in the western (80 percent) and central (54 percent) regions, while the southern (42 percent) and eastern (43 percent) parts of Ukraine opt for Ukraine’s neutral status. At present, only about a third of the population in the south and the east (34 percent and 29 percent, respectively) opt for Ukraine’s accession to NATO.