The Price of Freedom: the Conflict in Ukraine and its Geopolitical Consequences

Abstract

The article analyzes the peculiarities of the conflict in Ukraine, its preconditions and geopolitical consequences. It provides the examples and numbers, which show the low level of trust to government institutions, law enforcement agencies, judicial system and a much higher level of trust to non-governmental organizations. It covers the issue of democracy condition or, to be more precise, the lack of democracy, which causes the society’s tendency to protest. It is stated that the public’s discontent was with the oligarchs’ influence on the country, with the corruption on all the levels of social relations, with the pressure on small and medium enterprises, and ambiguity about the strategic course of the state’s development (European Union, Customs Union). The article defines the issues connected with the beginning and reasons, which made the people go out to the Maidan. The most prevailing causes include the severe beating of the demonstrators on the Maidan overnight into November 30, repressions, Viktor Yanukovych’s refusal to sign an EU association agreement, and the desire to change life in Ukraine. There was also a great wish to change the authorities in Ukraine. The article analyzes the Russian Federation’s armed aggression against Ukraine, which became a long-term factor of influence on the Ukrainian political, economical, military and social reality. It is stated that due to the RF actions within 2014-2015, the system of global and regional security and the current system of international law have been deformed. Almost all international security assurances for Ukraine (the Budapest Memorandum, in particular) proved to be deprived of legal capacity in conditions when the aggressor is one of the guarantors – Russian Federation. It is demonstrated that the Russian invasion and seizure of the part of the Eastern-Ukrainian region, the Crimea became a direct challenge both to the European system of security and Ukraine.