The democratic values that underpinned Ukraine’s Revolution of Dignity in 2014 still unite Ukrainians today, according to NDI public opinion research. Ukrainians have little nostalgia for the pre-revolution government, even among those who voted for opposition parties in October’s parliamentary elections. NDI conducted a nationwide face-to-face survey of 5,842 respondents in April and May, as well as implicit association tests, a method of measuring implicit or underlying attitudes, among 600 Ukrainians.

In spite of the pressure they are under, Ukrainians are overwhelmingly committed to defending the country’s right to determine its own future. A clear majority wants Ukraine to join the European Union, and nearly 80 percent regard Russia’s influence in the country as negative. Ukrainians are impatient to see political parties respond to the needs of society as a whole and challenge, rather than protect, the interests of the small clique of oligarchs that control much of the country's political scene. According to the survey results, Ukraine possesses a significant reservoir of untapped potential for citizen engagement in the reform process.