Should East & West Ukraine remain as one country ?

[Jarema]

Should Ukraine follow the footsteps of countries like Switzerland and embrace its multi-ethnic and multi-lingual character ?

Or should the Ukrainian and Russian parts of Ukraine split.

Could this solve problems (especially identity questions)
or would it rather create them.

[ricardo]

So far as I know Ukraine may be considered as bilingual but certainly not multi-ethnic and multi-lingual.

[Jarema]

If you consider the western Ukrainians as having the same ethnic background as the Russian speaking and thinking population in the West of the country then yes.

But that is not the case at all.

These are different peoples. Very different in terms of mentality, language , beliefs and national identity.

As if there would be two countries indeed.

[zhuk]

I am not sure we are so different in East or West.
I am Ukrainian who is more Russian than Ukrainian by language and mentality.
But I travelled lot in the west of Ukraine and found that we are common all over ukraine.
But in my opinion the most interested in the split of the state persons are those who make Ukrainian language the only one official.
The question of the russian language as second official is not yet settled.
And that makes people angry and willing to create the seperated region with democratic 2 official languages rules.
the same was then Moldova devided in two states in 1991.

[ricardo]

My parents came from Zhitomir and Pochai one of my uncles from Kharkov and I'm orthodox so what makes me different perhaps because I was born in Argentina so I may not have been born with green eyes or do not share the catholic religion as some people from Lviv?

[Irinka]

Try splitting Ukraine...
The country is already poor and very corrupt, many cities depend on each-other for food and jobs, also Ukraine can not economically survive without the Black Sea Port, without our famous Steppes where the best in Europe wheat and potatoes grow. Do you think that Western Ukraine could survive growing their potatoes and wheat on the Carpathian Mountains? Do you honestly think that Eastern Ukraine wants to be part of Russia?
Eastern Ukraine could economically survive without the Western Ukraine with all of her natural resources, largest sea port, wheat, potatoes...etc.. But what about the handfull of the Western Ukrainian cities, who will feed them? Kuchma out of his own pocket?
It isn't smart to separate a country like Ukraine, all cities have a cymbiotic relationship with each-other, why destroy an already struggling country?
If you are still unhappy, move to Poland and you'll see how "well" they'll treat you.

[Bartosz]

Personally I don▓t think that splitting Ukraine would be a good solution. Why? Just because the economical differences between the regions aren▓t so distinct, so from economical point of view nobody would profit from it.
In addition Ukraine as an entity represents some economical ties, which in the case of splitting would be broken. That would be disadvantageous.
People of the different nationalities can live together in one country and prosper well what prove the examples of Swiss and US.