Ankara : The Department of International Relations, İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University, 2012.Thesis (Master's) -- Bilkent University, 2012.Includes bibliographical references leaves 183-200.The existence of a regionally divergent Ukrainian society is manifested not
only in sharp regional voting differences, but also in differences in political culture,
incompatible interpretations of history, conflicting choices of language and
opposing preferences on country’s foreign policy orientation in different regions of
Ukraine. The fact that divisions mainly correspond to historical regions led to the
inference that these regional differences could largely be a matter of different
historical experiences, that is different historical legacies, since these regions
belonged to different countries during different historical periods. Accordingly, this
thesis intends to analyze the historical roots of the extensive and persistent regional
differences observed within the contemporary Ukrainian society, and lays the claim
that this diversity is a reflection of their ancestors’ experiences in several diverse
political dominations simultaneously, experiencing a life in very different
environments provided by different sovereigns, and being exposed to different and
sometimes even conflicting policies. Comparing the developments in different
historical regions, this thesis aims at giving a comprehensive picture as to how the
different experiences of Ukrainian people resulted in different self-identifications
starting its analysis from the Kievan Rus’ and reaching up until the modern
Ukraine. The historical analysis of different historical periods performed in this
thesis demonstrates and confirms the fundamental role played by centuries long
diverging historical experiences of Ukrainian generations and their historical legacy
on the evolution of contemporary regional distinctions.Gürsu, TunaM.S