Kurkov: The War Could Transform Ukraine’s Political Culture

Ukraine’s difficult defense in the war is the consequence of the weak policies of previous generations, while Ukrainians themselves were often willing to vote not for political programs or proposals, but for charismatic images or personalities. Writer Andrii Kurkov said this during discussions marking the anniversary of Ukraine’s independence.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. He expressed his belief that the war will change Ukrainians’ political culture and make them more demanding of politicians. “Now Ukraine is paying for its independence. And, in part, it is paying for the fact that politicians in the early 1990s were not active and did not work on building a truly independent state free from Russia. There was no competition between ideologies. Until recently, and even now, there has been competition between populistic figures – that is, people who want to appeal to voters. Now I hope that this war will change our political structure,” Kurkov said. Sergii Kostezh is a Kyiv Post Special Correspondent. He has worked for various Ukrainian TV channels as a reporter from the field and war zone.