When you think about Ukraine, corruption is probably the first word that comes to mind. It’s undermining the country, hollowing out the state, destroying society and preventing reform — or so the media says. Western newspapers are awash in headlines like “Why Ukraine Is Losing the War on Corruption” and “Corruption Is Killing Ukraine’s Economy.”
Concern is merited, of course, because corruption remains one of democratic Ukraine’s greatest challenges. But the hyperbolic language, and the implicit — sometimes explicit — claim that Ukraine’s existence and transformation are incompatible with corruption, derives from six myths. Like all myths, these serve as convenient oversimplifications that overshadow the need for genuine understanding.
