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Problems of Ukraine's integration choice

Student: Bel`dyushkina Mariya

Supervisor: Andrey Suzdaltsev

Faculty: Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs

Educational Programme: Bachelor

Year of Graduation: 2014

Annotation of Graduation Thesis, M. N. Beldyushkina Topic: Problems of Ukraine’s integration choiceChair: International AffairsThe subject of the study is Ukraine, while the study itself is devoted to the topic is Ukraine's integration choice. The primary purpose of the study is to evaluate the consistency and legality of Ukraine’s integration decisions, as well as to define development features of integration processes in case of Eurasian and European integration models. Within the framework of the study, the tasks are quite diverse. First of all, economic and political preconditions of Ukraine’s integration choice are found out, and peculiarities of Russian Federation and European Union’s policy towards the post-soviet Ukraine are studied. Next, the main milestones of 2013-2014 Ukrainian political crisis are emphasized, and Ukraine’s geopolitical posture after the 2014 Revolution is evaluated. Finally, peculiarities of both Eurasian and European orientation of Ukraine’s integration policy, as well as 2013-2014 Ukrainian crisis’ impact on the international community are studied.The thesis of the study is that Ukraine’s integration choice is one of the key preconditions to changes in Eurasian and European integration ways’ perception, as well as the element of international power balance’s reformatting. At the same time, Ukraine’s integration choice is the basis of either proof or disproof of the post-soviet Ukraine’s status as an economically and politically consistent state.Within the framework of the study it has been determined that recovery of the Ukrainian economic system, unable to adapt to the actuals of the market economy, as well as winning back the lost positions on the international scene were the primary tasks of the post-soviet Ukraine, which gained independence in 1991. In this regard, Ukrainian officials considered Ukraine’s active participation in international integration processes as the key way to solve socio-economic and political problems after the USSR dissolution. Thanks to its advantageous geographical location, Ukraine had a high potential of becoming a “mediator” between Russian Federation and European Union, able to establish mutually beneficial relationships with both parties. Nevertheless, the Ukrainian establishment was in favour of European integration that could bring Ukraine much mire benefits than in case of cooperation with Russian Federation, whose integration projects were considered by Ukraine as certainly unpromising and disadvantageous. In this regard, Russian Federation’s efforts to involve Ukraine in cooperation concerning integration processes in the post-soviet states met with no success. Despite the fact that thanks to protests within the framework of Euromaidan the power had been seized by the pro-European opposition forces, the full-fledged dialogue between Ukraine and European Union could not be established. The violent assumption of power, in its turn, has led to escalation of political instability in southern and eastern regions of Ukraine. This questions all-Ukrainian support of pro-European policy, conducted by the new Ukrainian government. Today it is quite complicated to evaluate the prospects of future collaboration between Ukraine and the European Union due to remaining economic and political instability. Nevertheless, the ongoing Ukrainian political crisis has encouraged rethinking of international geopolitical relations, whose development is now highly dependent on Ukraine’s further integration policy.

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