The demonizing of Ukrainian oligarchs as major impediments to democratization and reform has become a shared mantra of Western and domestic pundits alike. Whenever explaining the slow pace of Ukraine’s changes after the Euromaidan, analysts argue that oligarchs only gained influence and that by controlling whole chunks of the state apparatus, mass media, and economy, they are capable of halting reforms whenever their financial interests are at stake.But instead of blaming the omnipresent bogeymen—the oligarchs—let’s acknowledge that this view is just too simple to be true. Ukraine’s government is often unprepared to kill the beast of underperforming post-Soviet institutions. Parliamentary …read more
Source: Atlantic Council
