“Ukraine's Orange Revolution”
Speaker: Mikhail Alexseev, Ph.D.
Date of Event: April, 13, 2005
By Daniela Keller and Emily Powell

Professor Mikhail Alexseev entered the conference room with a big smile on his face and bright orange shirt. By wearing orange shirt, he signified his solidarity with the Orange Revolution in Ukraine as well as Viktor Yushchenko’s campaign for president. For those of you unfamiliar with it, the Orange Revolution was a series of protests and political events in late 2004-2005 that took place throughout the country in response to allegations of massive corruption, voter intimidation, and direct electoral fraud during Ukraine's Presidential Run-off Election of November 21, 2004. As Professor Alexseev spoke enthusiastically about the strength and commitment of the people during the events of the Orange Revolution, as a member of the audience I could literally feel the intensity, positive energy, and liberation associated with the participants of the revolution. He is also a native of the Ukraine and with a cousin who participated in the protests, and because of these he displayed a more personal understanding of the importance of this revolution for the future of Ukraine during the talk. He explained he worked as a correspondent for the Kremlin news during the late Gorbachev period and understood the harsh political environment of the past. In 1990, he became one of four Soviet citizens to receive a NATO Democratic Institution Fellowships, bringing him to the United States. Currently, he is an associate professor of Political Science at San Diego State University.

The main focus of Professor Alexseev’s talk was to consider various possible explanations to answer the question of why the Revolution took place in Ukraine when it did. One proposed explanation was that there was a growth of civil society, an educated youth, and technology such as Internet cafes. However, Professor Alexseev disproved the connection between the development of a more technologically advanced city and a revolution by arguing that even with many Internet cafes in Moscow, most young Moscowans were anti-western. Another reason was there was a common feeling of discontent and many grievances from the citizens towards the government in Ukraine in recent years. However, this factor does not explain why the revolution happened in 2004 as opposed to the late 1990s when the dissatisfaction of citizens was first present and made known. Others claimed the revolution took place in the Ukraine as a result of a growing consciousness of Ukrainian culture, but the revolution took place in Kiev, a Russian-speaking city which discredited that theory. He also provided some background on the history of Ukraine in order to explain the connection of the Orange Revolution and the identity of the Ukrainian state. For a long time, Ukraine has been a borderland, both on the outskirts of Europe as well as Russia. This created a divided ethnic identity in Ukraine, something Alexeev felt himself growing up there. But, now Ukrainians are asserting their own ethnicity, speaking their own language and practicing their own cultural activities. However, in an attempt to pull Ukraine towards a partnership with Russia, President Putin of Russia campaigned for giving a double citizenship of Ukrainians, including one for Russia. His justification for this was because Ukraine was called “Soviet Union's most important republic” and it would never have survived for as long as it did without Ukraine, and it will be a beneficial partnership for future as well.

As a result of the wide-spread support and success of the Orange Revolution, the Ukrainian population demonstrated to the world they preferred European cooperation rather than an alliance with Russia. Since then, Ukrainians are hopeful about gaining membership into the European Union in the near future. In recent news, the President of Ukraine visited the United States and asked for NATO membership, another big step for that country towards European integration. To conclude his talk, Alexseev expressed his genuine optimism that Ukraine will join in the European Union in the next 10-15 years. This will come after the country substantially improves its economy and develops new technology in the country. Further evidence of this was at a press conference Professor Alexseev attended as a journalist in Kiev where he asked Gorbachev: “Do you think the Ukraine can be part of the common European place?” Gorbachev chose not to provide an answer to the question, but his silence signified his acceptance of the inevitable future of Ukraine: admission into the European Community.