ABSTRACT
Post-Soviet Ukraine is composed of regions which historically have never been united within one independent state. The contribution argues that the ‘new’ Ukraine has had to face several regional rather than clear-cut ethnic 242challenges since gaining independence in 1991. Rather than being a destabilizing factor, the regionalization of Ukraine’s political, socioeconomic and administrative structures has contributed to its political stability. Regional political mobilization occurred in only a few regions, with Crimea posing the only serious ethno-regional challenge to Ukrainian state-building. Conflict in Crimea was widely expected but did not occur due to the absence of clearly demarcated ethno-political boundaries and the weakness of Russian nationalism both in Crimea and in Russia. Most importantly, the protracted process of negotiation at the regional and national level channelled the Crimean issue into a constitutional settlement.
