The geographic component of mass attitudes in Ukraine

An American political scientist analyzes the results of a recent survey of the population in Ukraine to explore whether social cleavages (based on ethnicity, language, religion, and region of residence) translate into basic divisions with respect to support for an independent Ukrainian state. Data are examined at both the aggregate (group) and individual levels, in an effort both to identify components of a unified set of attitudes toward independence among population groups and to provide an explanation for individual differences in loyalty to the concept of an independent Ukraine.