The role of Ukrainian "traditional" Churches in the transformational processes of transition from the totalitarian to the democratic system of Ukraine (1989 – 2005)

The article analyzes the participation of the Churches of the Kyiv tradition (these include the UGCC, UOC-MP, UOC-KP, UAOC) in the processes of transition of Ukrainian society from a totalitarian to a democratic system. During this period, the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine's independence and a large-scale democratic Orange Revolution took place. Undoubtedly, just as the Ukrainian Churches joined these events, so did the socio-political vicissitudes themselves influence the formation of the identity and positioning of many Christian denominations. The author considers the role of the UGCC and UAOC in the processes of national uplift and establishment of Ukrainian statehood in the late 80's of the XX century. Given that, the religious factor played an important role in the collapse of the totalitarian state and the establishment of Ukrainian statehood. At the beginning of independence, sovereign Ukraine faced the path of geopolitical choice, and eventually the scales prevailed in the direction of European integration, which gradually began to play an important role in shaping the country's foreign policy. The author finds out the cultural and religious reasons for the geopolitical choice of the majority of Ukrainians. One of the conclusions in the article is the fact that the Ukrainian Churches undoubtedly fall into the field of geopolitical confrontation, some of them choose the path of supporting the European integration process; others, on the contrary, argue in favor of the pro-Russian vector. This civilizational confrontation in society led to the Orange Revolution. As the Churches integrate into public life, one can observe their involvement in the events on Maidan in 2004. The events of the Orange Revolution contributed to the revival of democratic processes in Ukraine. And the experience gained by churches in participating in socio-political vicissitudes has helped to improve communication between churches, rethink their relationship with the state and form new relationships with society.