Lustration in the countries of the Black Sea region: comparative analysis

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the peculiarities of lustration processes in the countries of the Black Sea region. The author analyzes the lustration processes in such countries as Albania, Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Moldova; characterizes the peculiarities of the output of each of these countries from the zone of influence of the Soviet Union, monitors the tendencies of lustration changes in these countries and compares these political processes with those that are taking place in Ukraine at the present time. The work of modern and domestic scholars on this subject is analyzed in detail and it is revealed that for the first time in the scientific discourse a comparative analysis is given of lustration processes in the countries of the former socialist camp and Ukraine, because only these countries faced with the problem of significant changes, the overthrow of the Soviet system of governance and the restoration of the state under the new scheme. The author studies the ways of achieving lustration in the countries of the Black Sea region and gives her vision to the processes of lustration in our state, characterizes the concept of lustration and leads to a comprehensive interpretation of this concept. In particular, the author points out that the main wave of power change took place in 1989, when several pro-Soviet communist regimes were destroyed within a few months in the region. The system of Western democracy and the rule of law served as a reference point on the road to reforms in European countries. However, on the way to democratization, each of the countries of the former socialist camp had to get rid of the old norms and laws of government, most of them resorted to lustration processes. During the work, the author came to the conclusion that each of the countries of the Black Sea region had its own tendencies in the question of lustration, but the author confirmed such a hypothesis: the less influence the Soviet Union had had on this or that country, the more legitimate was the process of lustration in the country. Unlike Romania, Albania, Bulgaria, where the lustration processes took place in 1980-1990, in Ukraine the question of lustration was raised only after the 2004 Orange Revolution. However, lustration processes in Ukraine in the 2000s were viewed as a situational tool for achieving political interests by political groups. The author proves that since 2014 in our state a real process of lustration has begun.