Ukraine: don’t ask who killed Georgiy Gongadze

Gongadze Ten years ago Ukrainian investigative journalist Georgiy Gongadze was murdered. Various officials were named as suspects, one of whom died subsequently in unexplained circumstances. The Yanukovych regime’s clampdown on freedom of speech may mean no satisfactory conclusion will ever be reached, explains Alexa Chopivsky

Latest on Ukraine’s history wars: Orange fighter down

The recent arrest of Ukrainian museum director Ruslan Zabily provoked an outcry. Did he actually leak state secrets or is the Yanukovych regime just trying to undo all Orange achievements, including the revival of Ukrainian historical memory?

A prognosis for Ukraine's ebbing democracy

Six months into office, Yanukovych has moved swiftly to strengthen government. Indications are mounting that his intention is comprehensively to curtail the freedoms won by Ukraine since the fall of communism. But there is reason to hope that civil society may prove robust enough to withstand the pressure

Ukraine's new regime: the first 200 days

Mykola Riabchuk is one of Ukraine’s leading intellectuals. In an interview with Ingo Petz he outlines his views on the failure of the Orange Revolution and the early stages of the Yanukovych presidency

Prayer and politics: Russia's pincer movement in Ukraine

Patriarch Kirill was received with acclaim in Ukraine, but there was more to his visit than Orthodox fervour. Alexa Chopivsky sees another step in the reinforcing of Russo-Ukrainian ties, both political and religious, and the desire of both countries to capitalize on the failure of the Orange Revolution.

Ukraine: bulldozing the Orange building

President Yanukovych is steadily demolishing the gains of the Orange Revolution. This turn towards Moscow looks uncomfortably like an attempt to placate the Tsar with tributes

Rector takes on Ukranian Security Services

On May 18, the Ukrainian Security Services paid a strange visit to Borys Gudziak, rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv. Their goal, it seems, was to ensure his students would not take to the streets to protest against the new President when he arrived in town the following day. Gudziak refused to co-operate and produced a following memorandum that has sent shockwaves through Ukraine.

Ukraine: the immobile state

The electoral defeat of the figureheads of the “orange revolution” of 2004 raises profound questions over Ukraine’s political future. A realistic assessment suggests that the views of both alarmists and optimists will be confounded, says Taras Kuzio.

Russia-Ukraine: bridge building?

What was the upshot of the recent Kiev meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents? Will the bridge between the two countries be built? Maria Starozhitskaya argues that, in spite of the agreements signed, rapprochement will be slowed down – and the bridge is not such a good idea anyway.

Ukraine's Stolen Memory

During Viktor Yushchenko’s five years in power, Ukraine did not start facing up to its totalitarian history. Since President Yanukovich came to power, that task has become almost impossible.

Russia's fleet in Crimea: what's the real deal?

President Yanukovich’s unexpected extension of the lease on Russia’s fleet in Crimea has Ukraine in an uproar. No one knows the full extent of that agreement. It was clearly not just about cheap Russian gas

What's left of Orange Ukraine?

Though political infighting continues to hinder reform, Ukraine’s new president is equally unlikely to drop the European rhetoric and defer to Moscow, writes Mykola Riabchuk. For the time being at least, Ukraine's leadership will continue to "muddle through"

Ukraine's political merry-go-round

The new Ukrainian government has turned out to be a rather ugly bunch: coarse, corrupt, opaque and inexperienced from the President down. Not much different from the previous lot, then.

Cracking heads open in Ukraine: a neurosurgeon’s story. Part 3

Henry Marsh, an English neurosurgeon, tells the story of his twenty-year friendship with Igor Kurilets, a young Ukrainian who resolved to drag Soviet neurosurgery into the 21st century

Cracking heads open in Ukraine: a neurosurgeon’s story. Part 2

Henry Marsh, an English neurosurgeon, tells the story of his twenty-year friendship with Igor Kurilets, a young Ukrainian who resolved to drag Soviet neurosurgery into the 21st century

Cracking heads open in Ukraine: a neurosurgeon’s story. Part 1

Henry Marsh, an English neurosurgeon, tells the story of his twenty-year friendship with Igor Kurilets, a young Ukrainian who resolved to drag Soviet neurosurgery into the 21st century

Partition Ukraine? I think not

It is irresponsible to fan the flames of partition as Ethan Burger does in his openDemocracy article ”Could partition solve Ukraine’s problem?” Neither the facts nor opinion polls support such wild speculation, says Adrian Karatnycky

Stepan Bandera: a divisive national icon

Viktor Yushchenko has left his successor a ticking time bomb. His name is Stepan Bandera. Should Yanukovych strip him of the official status of hero, which he has been accorded?

Ukraine: preserving nationhood

Russian-Ukrainian ties may have deteriorated during Yushchenko’s presidency, but his successor Yanukovych is determined to redress that balance. It is crucial that Ukrainians continue to feel they are a sovereign nation, maintains Valery Kalnysh.

Could partition solve Ukraine’s problems?

In the light of Ukraine’s election result, Ethan S. Burger offers a proposal for the creation of a new Ukrainian state. Partition would do more than better reflect the country’s national/ethnic composition, he suggests. It could also make the country economically viable, while enhancing European stability.

This week's guest editors

openGlobalRights editors

Our guest editors James Ron, Leslie Vinjamuri, Sophie Arie and Archana Pandya introduce this week's theme of:

Emerging powers and human rights.

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