Ethno-nationalism is a term that refers to nationalism based on this consciousness of ethnic nationality, as opposed to civic nationality" ("Week 1"). This is in direct contrast to civic nationality.
Civic nationality centers on the shared territory of the group of people. It matters little what each individual's ancestry is, as long as the person was born or is permanently residing within a geographic area ("Week 1"). For the Ukraine, it mattered little that the Russians were permanent residents, or that many had been born within the Ukrainian borders, what mattered was the shared culture of the Ukrainian people, and their ancestry.
It should have been little surprise that ethnic nationalism took hold over civic nationalism. Civic nationalism usually occurs in well-institutionalized democracies ("Week 1"). However, with the independence of the Ukraine, this was not the case. Instead, an institutional vacuum was present, and therefore the citizens turned to their culture, to find the structure they so needed, as they saw institutional collapse all around, and were not receiving the support for basic needs from the institutions they had so long depended upon.
Estonia:
Ethnic nationalism was also a distinctive feature of post-Soviet Estonia. Estonia suffered from the same lack of institutions, just as the Ukraine. For this reason, they turned away from the civic nationalism and towards ethnic nationalism.
The demographic composition of Estonia had a significant concentration of Russians. In fact, there were so many that they constituted a near voting majority. For this reason, Estonia was reluctant to grant Russians full citizenship ("Week 1").
One of the more unique aspects of post-Soviet Estonia, however, is there pursuit of religious freedom. The Constitution of the Republic of Estonia secures its citizens religious freedom. It specifically states that e]veryone has freedom of conscience, religion and thought. Everyone may freely belong to churches and religious societies. There is no state church. Everyone has the freedom to exercise his or her religion, both alone...
(... And that) [e]veryone has the right to remain faithful to his or her opinions and beliefs. No one shall be compelled to change them. Beliefs shall not excuse a violation of the law. No one shall be held legally responsible because of his or her beliefs (qtd. In Ringo)
Conclusion:
The dissolution of the U.S.S.R. was a traumatic event for all fifteen nations. They suffered signficantly both militarily and economically. The Federation saw an economic collapse unlike few others. Ukraine turned towards ethnic nationalism as a means of finding some semblance of structure in their new lives as an independent nation. Estonia too turned to ethnic nationalism and also instituted an unprecedented level of religious freedom where a state church no longer existed.
References
Developments in Selected Non-Member Economies: The Russian Federation." OECD Economic Outlook (Dec 2001). June 7, 2005 http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m4456/is_2001_Dec/ai_83566086.
History of Post-Soviet Russia. 25 May 2005. Wikipedia.org. June 7, 2005 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_post-Soviet_Russia.
Ringo, Ringvee. "Religious Freedom and Legislation in Post-Soviet Estonia." Brigham Young University Law Review (2001). June 7, 2005 http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3736/is_200101/ai_n8947384/pg_2.
Russia. 4 Jun 2005. Wikipedia.org. June 7, 2005 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia.
Smith, Graham & Wilson, Andrew. "Rethinking Russia's post-Soviet Diaspora: The Potential for Political Mobilisation in Eastern Ukraine and North-East Estonia." Europe-Asia Studies (July 1997). June 7, 2005 http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3955/is_n5_v49/ai_20393653.
Soviet Union. 6 Jun 2005. Wikipedia.org. June 7, 2005 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet.
Week 1, Lecture 1 - Overview. No date. University of California Irvine. June 7, 2005 http://hypatia.ss.uci.edu/istudies/Eurasia/Eurasia_spring05/outlineW1.html.
