Ukraine’s Independence and Its Geostrategic Impact in Eastern Europe

This paper aims to provide a thorough analysis of the factors that led to Ukraine’s independence on 1 December 1991, and on the impact that this event had on Soviet geopolitical space. The conclusions drawn are interesting and shed light on further developments of the new state. If other Soviet republics reached similar events through the actions of nationalist forces, in Ukraine the decisive factor was the communist conservative circles’ desire to separate themselves from Gorbachev’s and later on from Yeltsin’s reforms. The alliance with the nationalist forces made possible the referendum result which was overwhelmingly for independence. The immediate consequences of the act of 1 December 1991 were, primarily, the Soviet Union collapse, followed by numerous ethnic tensions that have even led to economic destabilization. On the other hand, the new state entered into a long series of diplomatic tensions with both Russia and Romania over Ukrainian territories inhabited mostly by Russian or Romanian populations and with great strategic importance.