The Orange Revolution remains an event of crucial importance to the entire postSoviet space. Its main accomplishments were the establishment of political freedom (including freedom of the press) and free and fair elections. After Ukraine’s 2006 parliamentary elections, the country was recognized by the U.S.-based nongovernmental organization Freedom House as the only free country in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Elections in Ukraine matter, and no political force has managed to monopolize power.
On the other hand, many aspirations of the Orange Revolution were not realized, including ending corruption, strengthening the rule of law, and judicial reform. This led to the frustration of the Orange electorate, especially those who voted for Viktor Yushchenko in 2004 and his political bloc, Our Ukraine, in 2006 and 2007. As a result, politics in Ukraine became populist, and the Orange forces became hostage to electoral democracy. The Orange Revolution came to be perceived as only the first of many needed steps toward fundamental economic and political reform.
