The Orange Revolution appeared to be an event of crucial importance for the whole post-Soviet space. Although supported by Moscow, Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma did not manage to pass power to his designated “successor” and to repeat in such a way the “Yeltsin – Putin scenario”. Falsification of the 2004 Presidential elections led to massive, yet non-violent, protests known as Orange Revolution. In the 2006 Freedom House ratings Ukraine was recognized as the only free country among all other post-Soviet states (with the exception of the Baltic States) Were all these developments unexpected? Was it a Western plot as often depicted in Russian media or a product, first of all, of internal development? How deep are the transformations and what are the handicaps?
