Residents of the former Soviet republic were not as smart and smart as they thought about at the time of the collapse of the USSR. This was recognized by Leonid Kravchuk, the first leader of independent Ukraine. Speaking on television, the ex-politician said that in 1991. when the republic under his leadership announced the withdrawal from the Union, he relied on a high level of education of citizens and hoped that having received the freedom of choice they "will begin to create a new political life". However, the calculation was incorrect. "Most of them, unfortunately, were slaves and lackeys," - said Kravchuk on the air of the channel ZIK. Good were both the power and the electorate. His successors and other representatives of the political elite began to "execute orders" and "serve untrue" to their patrons. Citizens did not understand the peculiarities of political battles and voted for those who misled them with populist slogans. According to Kravchuk, the erudite patriotic elite in Ukraine has not yet been formed. The country's first president regularly criticizes the current leadership of the country. He accuses him of incompetence and dishonesty. Authorities "openly and cynically" deceive people, their words always differ from the case, noted the former head of state recently. More than a quarter of a century since the declaration of independence of the country, the time of missed opportunities was also called by the second president of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma. According to him, the country should not abandon nuclear weapons, because the promises of world-class politicians "can be empty, hypocritical and cynical". Kuchma stressed that the country remained without security guarantees.

The second major mistake, in his opinion, was the "orange revolution", the third was the refusal of the fourth president Viktor Yanukovych from signing an association with the European Union. "The authorities destroyed the energy sector, mediocrely conducted personnel and economic policies in 2005-2006. And this led to a shameful fall in the pace of economic growth, distrust of the people, "- quotes Kuchma RIA FAN. Kravchuk served as president of Ukraine from 1991 to 1994. , Kuchma - from 1994 to 2004. Former heads of state gave an interview on the eve of the 27th anniversary of Ukraine's independence, which is celebrated today.