The current global media focus on Ukraine, where a long standoff between a group of pro- EU protesters and the government has ensued, illustrates an interesting and rather odd trend: the media’s obsessive reference to the Soviet and communist past in any discussion on the countries of Central-Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
A quick glance at the countless journalistic and academic publications reveals that, just like practically all of its neighbors, Ukraine is always presented to the readers as “a former Soviet Republic” or a “post-Soviet country.” And that is despite the fact that over 20 years have passed since the collapse of the Soviet Empire and with no regard to the obvious and dramatic transformations that have taken place both in Ukraine and in the region.
