State Acts of Ukraine and the Baltic Countries: chronological comparison (1990–2004)

The article examines the main state-building acts adopted by the highest authorities of Ukraine and the Baltic states starting from 1990 (as a result of the first free election of deputies of these republics in the post-war period) and until 2004 (when significant changes took place in the internal political and geopolitical context, in particular – the accession of the Baltic states to NATO and the EU, as well as changes in the form of government in Ukraine in amendments to the Constitution as a result of the so-called «Orange Revolution»). The article reflects not only the legal part of the specified period, but also the institutional part, in particular, in the part of the formation of both legislative and executive power in the specified countries. The interaction of political, regulatory and historical components in this article forms a holistic vision of state-building processes in their synergistic unity. The purpose of the study is to conduct a chronological comparison of the main statebuilding acts of Ukraine and the Baltic countries in the period from 1990 to 2004. The methodological basis is a chronological comparison of the normative framework of countries in the context of the processes of state formation. It was determined that the parliaments of these countries, which were elected in the spring of 1990, immediately began to fight for their sovereignty and set a course for separation from the union center. The August 1991 putsch in Moscow became the «trigger mechanism» in the declaration of independence of the Baltic states and Ukraine. From that time, these countries began to build their states independently, in particular in the political and legal sphere. First, there is a change in the name of the state itself and its parliament (getting rid of the Soviet one) at the legislative level, as well as the complete subordination of power structures and other authorities exclusively to republican structures. Subsequently, the main state symbols (flag, coat of arms and anthem), constitutions are adopted, the course of states towards a market economy through the denationalization of property and privatization is introduced, each has its own currency, property is divided with other republics, international treaties and agreements are adopted, and countries The Baltics (but not Ukraine) manage to completely get rid of Russian troops from their territory through complex diplomatic efforts. The latter also contributed to the fact that the Baltic countries, having immediately taken a course towards the West, later became full members of NATO and the EU. During this period, Ukraine only decided on its geopolitical vector, that it intends to join these international associations in the future.