Wednesday 01 April 2026 5:23 am  |  Updated:  Tuesday 31 March 2026 12:14 pm

Ukraine is turning West in its economic thinking

By: Rainer Zitelmann

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Ukraine and Russia once shared a Soviet system but are now moving in opposite directions. One is becoming more aligned with the economic values of Western democracies; the other remains rooted in a tradition of state control, says Rainer Zitelmann

A quiet but consequential shift is underway in Eastern Europe. While geopolitical attention has focused on war and security, a new study published in the journal Economic Affairs  points to a deeper transformation: a divergence in economic beliefs between Ukraine and Russia that may shape the region’s future just as much as military outcomes.

The study draws on opinion polls conducted in Ukraine, Poland and Russia, examining attitudes toward the market economy and capitalism. Its findings are striking. Ukrainians today express some of the most positive views of the market economy worldwide – ranking behind only a handful of countries including Poland, the United States, the Czech Republic, South Korea and Japan. By contrast, Russia ranks last among 36 countries surveyed. In most countries (including Poland and Russia), the survey was conducted by Ipsos Mori; in Ukraine, it was commissioned by the International Institute of........

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