Scherbak Andrey

№ 1, 2016

• “LES MISERABLES”: COMPARATIVE BIOGRAPHIES OF UKRAINIAN AND “NOVOROSSIYAN” COMMANDERS

  The paper tests the hypothesis about the similarity of the social origin of the commanders of volunteer battalions that distinguished themselves with the beginning of the military operations in South-East Ukraine. On the basis of a comparative analysis of the biographies of more than 50 Ukrainian and “Novorossiyan” commanders, the authors show that the latter, at the very best case, belong to the lower middle class. The results of the research conducted by the authors make us look with a critical eye at some of the major tenets of the popular theories of democratization and modernization that explain transition to democracy by the extension or maturation of the middle class. On the one hand, this reflects the specificity of the post-Soviet space, where the other, less privileged social groups play a vital role in the political regime transformation rather than “the angry citizens”. On the other hand, this allows us to put the political processes unfolding in South-Eastern Ukraine into the global processes.

  DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2016-80-1-73-89