The year in review with Yevhen Golovakha on YouTube

The YouTube channel of the well-known opposition Russian journalist Ihor Yakovenko, who supports Ukraine, has released the interview “The year in review with Yevhen Golovakha”.

The former secretary-general of the Russian Union of Journalists, removed from his post for refusing to serve the Kremlin authorities, opened the interview with the head of Ukrainian academic sociology by asking what changes in Ukrainians' consciousness the country's researchers are recording. The Director of the Institute of Sociology of the NAS of Ukraine, Doctor of Sociological Sciences, Corresponding Member of the NAS of Ukraine, Professor Golovakha stressed that, according to the Institute's research, the changes compared with the pre-war year of 2021 are very palpable. In 2021 only 13% of respondents believed things would be better, and a third were outright pessimists, saying things would get worse.

Paradoxically, after the first battles of the war Ukrainians' level of optimism rose sharply, especially in 2022 against the background of successes in resisting the Russian invasion. One might say that at the start of the invasion the West overestimated Russia's military might, while Ukrainians, especially after repelling the assault on Kyiv and central Ukraine and the success of the Kharkiv operation, underestimated it for a time.

In 2023 the level of optimism fell somewhat but still remains high — about 60–70% of Ukrainians believe things will be better. “The year 2023 may be called a period of adaptation to the war and of a deeper understanding of its course, of greater realism and sobriety in our citizens' assessments,” Golovakha stressed.

This is helped by the fact that, according to 2022 surveys, about 80% of Ukrainians had not encountered the war directly, whereas now that figure is more than 50%. That is, half of Ukraine's citizens have felt the war's direct effect to one degree or another, which affects their attitudes and assessments.

Ukrainians have traditionally always been critical of the authorities, sometimes excessively so. A certain degree of criticism of the authorities persists now too. In 2022–23, however, attitudes towards the authorities became more positive.

Answering the presenter's questions, Professor Golovakha noted that the war has strengthened the formation of a Ukrainian political nation and stated that the first period of the war did more, in a certain sense, to raise Ukrainians' civic consciousness and patriotism than the preceding 30 years.

The Institute's research shows that with the beginning of the war the traditional “fractures” — regional and political — were largely overcome. The split between the east and south and the centre and west over Ukraine's movement towards the EU and NATO has almost been levelled out, and Ukraine is now far more united on this question.

Psychologically, Ukraine has a softer culture, traditions and emotionality among its people, which fosters processes of unification and displays of humanity. In the first year of the war Ukraine overcame its traditional failing — a sense of inferiority. Ukrainians' psychological type is changing, but that is not our choice, it is the war.

As a positive, Golovakha noted that our oligarchs have largely lost their influence on Ukrainian politics, something Ukraine's political scientists always dreamed of and which will affect Ukrainians' perception of political parties.

On such difficult problems as the reintegration of the temporarily occupied territories and the return of Ukrainians who relocated abroad during the war, the professor, drawing on research data, forecast that even such difficult territories as the Donbas and Crimea can be reintegrated provided special comprehensive programmes are developed and sensibly implemented, to which the Institute's sociologists can contribute. Depending on when the war ends, the percentage of those who relocated may change — the longer the war goes on, the greater the number of Ukrainians who may adapt and settle abroad, which reduces the likelihood of their return. Even now, however, they do not remain indifferent to their homeland: the financial flows into Ukraine from them are considerable.

In view of this, plans for Ukraine's recovery must be developed taking account of the real number of working-age people in Ukraine — there may be somewhere around 30 million of them if the war ends within a relatively short time.

Summing up, the head of Ukrainian academic sociology, Professor Golovakha, emphasised that for up to 80% of Ukrainians victory means the return of the occupied territories. And Ukrainians' unity is an important factor in victories. This is shown by the experience of our nationwide resistance over the past two years.

An interesting feature of this interview is that many of the comments under the video are positive — both about the interviewee and about Ukrainian sociology generally.

Watch the video on YouTube