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Comment by atdrummond | Hacker News Reader

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atdrummond·

Ukraine is in no way a functioning democracy.

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They're not perfect, for sure, but I highly doubt they will become more democratic if Russia wins the war.

Their elections were democratic (if not, please provide some evidence).

And secondly, they were well on their way to keep improving and follow the path of the other ex-soviet states that are now part of the EU.

As someone who has spent many months in Ukraine since the late 2000s, even the last election was not what I would call “democratic” even if I think the truly preferred candidate won.

You would be shocked at how often votes are outright bought by candidates and their supporters and how much strong arming is done to ensure certain areas vote for a specific party.

This doesn’t mean I support Russia - I live in a border country (Estonia) myself.

[1] https://www.euronews.com/2019/07/20/exhibition-highlights-vo...

[2] https://www.kyivpost.com/post/10219

Compared to Russia however they are a model of democracy, and that is one of the reasons this invasion happened in the first place. The last thing Putin wants on his doorstep is a country that is very much like Russia in some respects and yet one that can function as a (even if somewhat flawed) democracy.

It’s a flawed democracy, but it’s on a consistent upward trajectory.

Unfortunately not, they're mostly on a downward trend (I'm sure the war and Russian interference doesn't help, but it is what it is).

Still better now (5.42) than Russia today (2.28) or even back in 2006 (Russia was 5.02, though back then Ukraine was 6.94).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Economist_Democracy_Index

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