It’s Ukraine’s 18th birthday this week. The country is coming of age, but still has a lot of growing up to do.
The nation was born on Aug. 24, 1991, when its parliament approved the Act of Independence. Sovereignty was confirmed by 90 percent of the people who voted at a referendum on Dec. 1 later that year. Eighty-two percent of the electorate took part in the vote.
Polls show that Ukrainians would still support independence, but not as overwhelmingly. A study conducted last August by the think tank Razumkov Center showed that 52 percent of Ukrainians would vote for independence again, while 22 percent would vote against it.
For many, nationhood was an economic choice rather than a political one. People believed that an independent and free Ukraine will also be more prosperous and provide a better life and more choice for its citizens. Almost two decades later, another poll by the same center, conducted in late July 2009, showed that only 7 percent of Ukrainians think the country is going in the right direction, while 78 percent think it is not.
So, what is the right direction?
Coincidentally, direction in life is what every 18-year-old has to choose. It’s the age when one answers the basic questions of what kind of an adult one wants to be. What career choices to make? What qualities to develop? What relationships to form? It’s time to assess one’s strengths and decide how they can be applied.
Ukraine has too often kept the baggage of its parent, the Soviet Union, inheriting its extreme bureaucracy, outdated healthcare and education system and major heavy industries. Ukraine has missed many chances to form its own social, administrative and economic identity. It has so far failed to create a sustainable development strategy with foresight. But maybe that is too much to expect.
Ukrainians have grown out of some frivolous activities. They are skeptical about this year’s Independence Day parade, especially those who know it will eat Hr 70 million out of the budget. But the leaders, heavily involved in their favorite election games, continue to play on.
Peer groups are supposed to give way to true adult friendships. Ukraine is struggling to find true friends in this world. Its Russian neighbor has turned out to be a sulky, bullying kid unable to recognize the value of someone else’s personality and freedom to make choices. Older peers, such as Europe, have turned out to be cold and arrogant and too set in their ways.
But slowly, Ukraine is finding new friends. Poland comes to mind. It is a slightly more mature country that was able to move on from the shared bloody past to become Ukraine’s biggest advocate in the world.
Ukraine is showing many signs that it can grow into a good, reliable and mature adult. But its childhood is over. It’s time to grow up.
