Temporary Post-Communist Authoritarianism and Democracy: Ukraine 1990-1994

This paper is devoted to the early stage of the post-communist transformation in Ukraine, when the country was trying to launch the democratic transition preceded by some authoritarian transitional forms of rule such as restrictions on freedom of speech, so called “socialist pluralism”, quotas for Communists at the first parliamentary alternative elections, inadequate and late legislation on freedom of organization etc. During the most of that time Ukraine was a part of the USSR. Thus the problem appears, when the exploration of this residual, temporary post-communist authoritarianism in the country should start. I have chosen a compromise point of departure: the year 1990, imbued with political activity. In that year Ukraine still had a status of a union republic but had already adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty and had held first semi-democratic election to its legislative body – Verkhovna Rada, which at that time was undergoing the transformation to a parliament of Western type. The end of the period under consideration will be the year 1994, when the second election to Verkhovna Rada took place marking the beginning of the more-or-less serious reforms in the economy and the intensification of the constitution building process.