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Abstract

The breaking up of the Soviet Union was thought to have severed the links forged by History between Russia and Ukraine. Ukraine stated its new found independence within the Community of Independant States (CIS), rivalling Russia and banking on an equilibrium of East-West influences to assure its democratic transition. But Ukraine's economic liabilities, inherited from the dislocation of the Soviet empire (foreign debt, disputes over energy resources...), and a serious political crisis in 2000 have brought the two countries together, destabilising the equilibrium to Moscow's benefit and leading to retreats on reform. At the same time, Russia's fight against "terrorism" in Chechnya is now seen in the context of international preoccupations (11 September) and has brought about the NATO-Russia agreement (2002), which seems to relegate the Ukraine to a secondary role on the international scene.

Annie Daubenton is an Independant Research Fellow (Kiev, Paris).