UKRAINE AS HOSTAGE OF THE STATE

Abstract

The reasons for Ukrainian economy’s protracted lag behind the countries that do not have natural potential comparable to it are considered. In particular, it is noted that, regardless of the periods generally divided into totalitarian, voluntarist, stagnation and "perestroika" along with the imitation of transition to a market economy, Ukraine cannot manage to overcome the status of a hostage of the state, that is, the apparatus of political power in society, which has never allowed not only radical changes in the economic system, but also any cosmetic ones like the Kosygin reform or "perestroika".

As a result of demagogues coming to power, instead of carrying out a balanced reform of economic relations system, the destruction of industry and agrarian sector took place for a long time, the production volume of technical means of production decreased catastrophically, and a critical imbalance arose not only between crop and livestock production, but also within these industries. Consequently, Ukraine, which was the flagship among the East European countries, lost its leadership positions both in industry and agriculture. Meanwhile, Poland, whose economy was reformed by educated intellectuals, turned from a typical agrarian country into a developed industrial-agrarian state.

In the current situation, the most productive workers in terms of age are moving abroad from Ukraine, including qualified specialists, and a significant share of value-added products created by their labor is often imported by Ukraine, which almost doubles foreign employers’ profits at the expense of migrants and Ukrainian consumers. And this state of affairs acquired the signs of insuperable, despite the fact that billions worth of subsidies was allotted from the state budget every year to support both the extractive industry (in particular, coal mining) and agriculture.