[Opinion] Does President Zelensky’s legislation proposal send a strong signal to Russia about Ukraine’s future?
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In the last couple of weeks I have focused all of my attention on China. For instance, I wrote about why everyone should be focused on China’s relations with the world after the 2024 Taiwan elections and other current affairs this year.
But this week I wanted to focus on Ukraine, and particularly since one of my favorite Medium writers Oksana Kukurudza's Sunflowers Rarely Break wrote a very engaging piece about President Zelensky’s decision to change the dual-nationality legislation during the Unity Day celebration in Ukraine this week.
I am most fond of the way she portrays the development of Ukraine’s national identity, one which has links to the former Soviet Union and Europe. She also has a non-fiction book entitled “Sunflowers Bend but Rarely Break” which you can find online here.
Now, here are my thoughts on the story.
“If they did return home, would they even be welcome?
I have had the same disarming thoughts about today’s six million plus Ukrainian refugees. So many of them have been displaced by this war and are living as guests in foreign countries. Not knowing how long until it will be safe to go home, many of them are creating new lives in a new country.”
Ukraine will have to go through a fierce period of re-building after a prolonged period militarization and warfare. In this case, I imagine most people would not want to return to Ukraine right away. I was in Bulgaria last year where I met many people from Ukraine and Russia, so I don’t believe that Ukrainians will feel less safe outside of Ukraine. On the other hand, I did not get the sense that there were many opportunities for them there, either. They might feel compelled to return to Ukraine if there are not any other worthwhile opportunities outside of Ukraine. It’s very likely that with today’s global economic concerns that many Ukrainians would feel more comfortable going back to Ukraine to pursue a life in their home country, especially if they still have family members or a network residing there.
“In 1996, when I lived for a year and a half in Ukraine, the population of the country was 50 million. Before the outbreak of the war in 2022, the population had dropped to 40 million, some lost to job opportunities and other countries and others lost from the war in the Donbass. Now Ukraine’s population has been estimated to be closer to 30 million.”
From 1996–2023 the population of Ukraine has declined by approximately 20 million people. Let these figures sink in. Now imagine what cohort of people make up the majority of Ukraine’s population. I do not have any data, but I would guess that Ukraine does not have a strong workforce, considering that the country’s GDP growth revolves around agriculture exports and other commodities. While many people may blame the latter on Ukraine’s economic issues, I argue that this in fact what Ukraine needs to keep doing. Ukraine needs to focus on its comparative advantages, which is agriculture production and the export of other commodities. This will give Ukraine a steady source of revenues as well as contribute to their soft power dimension in International Relations. I apologize for being so pessimistic, but at least with less people in the country, they can continue to focus more on their agriculture exports.
“Ukraine’s 2001 constitutional amendment doesn’t allow Ukrainian citizens to have dual citizenship and requires any new citizen applicants to renounce their country of origin’s citizenship.
However, yesterday on Ukraine’s celebration of Unity Day, President Zelensky proposed legislation to change this. The new legislation would not only allow current Ukrainian citizens the right to dual citizenship, but also would offer Ukrainian citizenship to foreign fighters, and ethnic Ukrainian diaspora and their descendants.”
Ukraine’s President Zelensky made a bold move in announcing this legislation proposal. By encouraging the Ukrainian diaspora to return to Ukraine, he is offering the country a new path in its future political trajectory. Many of the Ukrainians residing abroad would bring new ideas, experiences and knowledge with them. But are we sure that this is right choice for them? I agree with Oksana — “If they did return home, would they even be welcome?” I think that they would indeed be welcome as Ukrainian citizens, but I do not think that their new ideas, experiences and knowledge would be appreciated among other people in Ukraine. To some extent, the legislation proposal by President Zelensky is a strong signal to Russia that the country is leading its own future, one that does not carry over the Soviet Union’s bureaucratic legacy — but it seems to be too little, too late.
Read the full story: “Zelensky introduces dual-nationality legislation on Unity Day”.
As of this publication time, the story has 350 claps and 6 comments.
If you like my opinion on current affairs, check out some of the previous opinions I wrote for [The Weekend Brief] newsletter: