Abstract

Ukraine: A Sharp Turn Eastwards examines the growing closeness between Ukraine and Russia since the narrow victory of the pro-Moscow candidate Viktor Yanukovych in the Ukrainian presidential elections in February.  Despite early feints in the direction of the EU and the US,  it seems clear that he intends to reverse many of the pro-Western policies of his predecessor, Viktor Yushchenko, the hero of the Orange Revolution in 2004 that led to the Yanukovych team’s rigging of the 2004 presidential elections being reversed.  The recent deal whereby Moscow offered Kyiv a discount on the very high price it has been paying for gas imports from Russia in exchange for Ukraine’s extending the lease by the Russian Black Sea Fleet of naval facilities in the Crimea until 2047 appears to rule out any question of NATO membership for Ukraine for the foreseeable future.  And domestically, Yanukovych’s first steps suggest that he may also seek to reverse the democratisation trend the Orange Revolution brought to Ukrainian politics.

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