ABSTRACT
Since the beginning of perestroika, Ukraine has been one of the most stable former Soviet republics in terms of minority relations. Its greatest challenge to date—the drive for secession by Crimea, Ukraine’s only province with a predominantly non-Ukrainian population—was temporarily staved off in mid-1992, at least for the short term, when Kiev granted Crimea a great deal of political, economic and linguistic autonomy. The elections to the unicameral Verkhovna Rada took place in March 1990, using a two-round majoritarian system. The elections were not multi-party, but they were genuinely multi-candidate, with two or more individuals on the ballot in each of Ukraine’s 450 constituencies. The chapter discusses based on an analysis of ninety-four roll call votes taken in the Ukrainian parliament during the four sessions following the first free elections in Ukrainian history, which took place in March 1990.
