Ethnic Structure of Contemporary Ukraine

The Soviet nationalities policy, aiming to shape one “Soviet nation”, had weakened to great extent the sense of national identity and of cultural and religious distinctiveness of both the Ukrainians and representatives of national minorities. As A. Fedorenko points out, “The Soviet Union established a solid structure, allowing it to conduct the efficient policy and creating its own version of national identity by the complex network of schools of all levels and the system of mass media”. The Soviet regime encouraged creating the imperial identity amongst the majority of the Ukrainians, and “for a significant group of average citizens of this mighty power enjoying the international prestige, identifying with it was something ordinary and obvious, especially while presented in the circumstances of ambitious, yet as it turned out, utopian perspectives, unimaginable social and cultural achievements”1.