ABSTRACT
The Ukraine is at a turning point in its developmental history. The transition from totalitarianism to democracy coincides with the process of the Ukraine's transformation into a sovereign state. As Ukrainian poll results have show, the overwhelming majority of Ukrainians are oriented toward building a democratic society based on the principles of political and economic pluralism, equality before the law, personal freedom, and social justice. However, the low figures on popular political participation contradict the popular presumption about the "high level" of Ukrainian involvement in such activities. The main characteristics of Ukrainian political culture are: low levels of political involvement in legitimate forms of political life, increasing distrust of official power structures, low political efficacy levels, and popular readiness to support mutually contradictory political positions. This type of widespread political consciousness may be called "conformist-nihilistic ambivalence" in the post-totalitarian personality. The chapter draws some conclusions about the population's notions about the best social system for the Ukraine.
