PROBLEMS OF UKRAINIAN INDEPENDENCE

Abstract

The paper surveys a complex of challenges faced by the Ukrainian people in efforts to forge an independent Ukrainian state. These include charting an independent course within the new CIS, the allocation of former all-Union assets on Ukrainian territory, relations with minority ethnic groups (particularly Great Russians) in Ukraine, and potential territorial claims by neighboring states. Among economic problems faced by Ukrainian leaders are the need for reduced dependency upon energy imports, for structural change and renovation of aging industrial infrastructure, and for maintenance of favorable terms of trade with foreign countries and the former Soviet republics.