Strengths and Weaknesses of the National Movement

In nearly all respects modern Ukrainian society is characterised by diversity. The lack of a single consolidating centre such as the Roman Catholic Church in Lithuania or Poland has made the organisation of a national movement relatively difficult. Ukraine’s vast, sprawling territory, the size of France, has always contained many different regions and traditions. Moreover, throughout the modern period, Ukrainians have not possessed a Ukrainian nation-state, and it is normally the state that is the most powerful instrument in overcoming such diversity.