Tetiana Dehtya­ryuk,

unemployed

“The Orange Revolution is the greatest thing to happen in Ukraine. Our country has also become well-known by its sport achievements. I’m very proud of our sportsmen. Unfortunately, we have chosen the wrong road, far away from Europe.”

Hazil Fazirov,
pensioner

“Now we have no plants and factories. Ukrainians are so poor. For me, independence means nothing good. Our politicians are thieves. We’re less democratic than Poland. Maybe in 100 years, life will turn out better in Ukraine.”

Iryna Berezova,
unemployed 

”I live in Vyshgorod. We have good roads there. The infrastructure is ok. It’s the best achievement. But I am ashamed of our president. I don’t know a person who likes him! The other problems I see are aggressive privatization of property and no middle class.”

Taras Zhukovskyi,
lawyer
“The biggest achievement is the proclamation of independence. So Euro 2012 or Eurovision 2005 is less important for Ukraine’s heritage.  On the other hand, the last presidential elections were the worst thing. It’s a pity, but politicians are becoming less intelligent. We’ll hope but we’ll prepare for the worst.”

Aiv Alporin,
Israeli businessman 

“Consu­merism is rising dramatically and it’s because an open market began to appear in Ukraine. The level of life is slowly but gradually improving. On the other hand, due to capitalism, there are big differences between people. Some of them are desperate because they see oligarchs with their smart cars and villas and understand they can’t achieve such a level.”