ABSTRACT
Introduction: democratization in Ukraine in 2004-2009 The process of the democratization of the Ukrainian society started after gaining independence in 1991.1 Since then Ukraine has made significant progress towards achieving Western standards of democracy and civil society (see Table 7.1). Before 2004 the state of political development in Ukraine could be considered a ‘hybrid democracy’ with strong presidential power. Therefore the period of 1991-2004 bears a label of ‘kuchmism’, which emphasizes the strong influence of former President L. Kuchma (in power from 1996-2004) on political and economic life in Ukraine during that period.
