Over the past 15 years Ukraine has certainly become a much freer nation than many of its former Soviet neighbors. Yet, as this year’s events have demonstrated, the point of no return in the transition toward a sustainable democracy has not been passed. Elements of authoritarian culture are still preserved inside a number of institutions, notably, the security sector. There are powerful forces in the region working to undo the nascent democracy. The latter’s very institutional structure is as yet too incomplete to be immune from these challenges.