ESC or click to close
Press releases and reports
Did Ukraine have statehood during the times of the USSR
The press release was prepared by Anton Hrushetskyi, executive director of KIIS
From May 16 to 22, 2024, the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) conducted its own all-Ukrainian public opinion survey "Omnibus", to which, on its own initiative, added a question about whether Ukraine had statehood during its stay in the Soviet Union. Bythemethodofcomputer-assistedtelephoneinterviews (CATI) based on a random sample of mobile phone numbers (with random generation of phone numbers and subsequent statistical weighting), 1,067 respondents living in all regions of Ukraine (territory under the control of the Government of Ukraine) were interviewed. The survey was conducted with adult (aged 18 and older) citizens of Ukraine who, at the time of the survey, lived on the territory of Ukraine controlled by the Government of Ukraine. The sample did not include residents of territories that are temporarily not controlled by the authorities of Ukraine (at the same time, out of 1,067 respondents from February 22 to 24, 2022, lived in the territory that is now occupied), and the survey was not conducted with citizens who went abroad after February 24, 2022. Formally, under normal circumstances, the statistical error of such a sample (with a probability of 0.95 and taking into account the design effect of 1.1) did not exceed 3.4% for indicators close to 50%, 3.0% for indicators close to 25%, 2.1% - for indicators close to 10%, 1.5% - for indicators close to 5%. Under the conditions of war, in addition to the specified formal error, a certain systematic deviation is added. Factors that can affect the quality of results in "wartime" conditions were previously cited by KIIS. In general, we believe that the obtained results are still highly representative and allow a fairly reliable analysis of the public moods of the population.
Statehood of Ukraine during the times of the USSR
Since the end of the 1980s, and especially after the declaration of independence, Ukraine has been undergoing processes of rethinking its past. One of the rather difficult questions concerns how to interpret Ukraine as part of the USSR. On the one hand, Ukraine was formally a separate republic (which even in 1945 became one of the co-founding states of the UN). For some, this is a reason to believe that Ukraine had a certain statehood. On the other hand, subordination to the Moscow Center in all important matters was obvious. In 2013, before the Revolution of Dignity and subsequent events, KIIS asked the question, which point of view is closer to Ukrainians regarding the statehood of Ukraine during the times of the USSR. In 2024, we repeated this question to understand how the views of Ukrainians have changed. As you can see in the graph below, in 2013 opinions were divided almost equally - 40% believed that Ukraine still had a certain statehood, on the other hand, 36% held the view that Ukraine was deprived of statehood (the rest could not clearly decide). In 2024, the share of Ukrainians who believe that Ukraine was deprived of statehood during the USSR increased to 54%, and the share of those who believe that Ukraine had some statehood decreased to 26%.
Graph1. According to some historians, during the times of the Soviet Union, the state-building processes in Ukraine did not stop, and Ukraine had its own statehood as one of the republics of the USSR. According to other historians, Ukraine as part of the USSR was deprived of statehood and restored it only in 1991. Which point of view is closer to you?
* For calculations for 2013 (for a more correct comparison), Crimea was excluded from the sample, and the ratio between regions was calculated as in the current year 2024.
The graph below shows the dynamics of views in the regional dimension. For the region, for a better understanding of changes, we took the place of residence of the respondents until 2024. In 2013, only in the West, more than half of the respondents believed that Ukraine was deprived of statehood. In the Center, in the South and East, there were more people who believed that Ukraine had a certain statehood (and no more than a third held the view that Ukraine was deprived of statehood). By 2024, drastic changes have taken place. Currently, there are more people in all regions who believe that Ukraine was deprived of statehood during the USSR (although at the same time, 21% in the West, 30% in the Center, 25% in the South and 31% in the East believe that Ukraine had a certain statehood during the Soviet Union).
Graph2. Did Ukraine have statehood during the times of the USSR in the regional dimension
A. Hrushetskyi, comments on the survey results:
The processes of decommunization and decolonization concern not only the change of public symbols (such as the names of settlements or streets), but also the very consciousness of citizens. Revising historical interpretations of Ukraine's past is important, as it allows us to finally reject the falsified narratives that have been imposed on Ukrainians for many generations, and finally find the true history of Ukraine. The survey shows positive changes in the views of Ukrainians, but there is still a long way to a consensus. If we talk about the issue of Ukrainian statehood during the USSR, not least the lack of consensus among citizens is a consequence of the lack of consensus both among professional historians and among the political elites of Ukraine. Obviously, Ukrainian society and state institutions have yet to develop an objective, fair and consensus view on the history of Ukraine during the USSR period. It should be understood that individual Ukrainian subjects (from all camps) will certainly try to turn historical discussions into a tool for achieving political goals. We hope that the way to develop a consensus view will still be through constructive reasoned discussions between, first of all, specialists (with correct coverage in the media and involving the experiences and trials of ordinary citizens), and that "political" influence will be minimized. In the end, we must come to the point where finally glance at our history unites us rather than creating new fault lines.
Annex 1. Formulation of questions from the questionnaire
According to some historians, during the times of the Soviet Union, the state-building processes in Ukraine did not stop, and Ukraine had its own statehood as one of the republics of the USSR. According to other historians, Ukraine as part of the USSR was deprived of statehood and restored it only in 1991. Which point of view is closer to you?
21.8.2024
|
Our social media: