RELATIONS BETWEEN GOVERNMENT AND NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS IN UKRAINE: ORIGIN AND CURRENT STATE

Abstract

The article provides a retrospective analysis of the relationship between Ukrainian non-governmental organizations and the government from the second half of the 1990s to the present, which was marked by the fullscale Russian aggression that began on February 24, 2022. The formation of the activities of non-governmental organizations in the first years of Ukraine's independence, as well as their participation in the formation of civil society, was studied. It has been established that Ukrainian non-governmental organizations have passed the transit path from their formation to active influence on the political and social life of the state, which is typical of most post- Soviet states and countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Acting in 2014 – with the beginning of the hybrid and in February 2022 – with the beginning and full-scale aggression of Russia, Ukrainian non-governmental organizations transformed their activities from banal defence of human rights and freedoms to a charitable mission of helping the Armed Forces and all victims of Russian aggression. The purpose of the study is to analyze the evolution of the activities of Ukrainian NGOs from the usual participation in public and political life to participation in the formation and implementation of volunteer activities in the conditions of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Methodology. The article uses an analytical approach to the retrospective study of the activities of non-governmental organizations of Ukraine from the moment of their formation to the present. The scientific novelty consists in tracing the evolution of the activities of Ukrainian non-governmental organizations and their effectiveness as charitable and volunteer associations. Conclusions. The effectiveness of public organizations and their popularity in Ukrainian society increased dramatically both after the beginning of Russia's hybrid war against Ukraine and with the beginning of the Russian full-scale invasion. Therefore, Ukrainian society quite favorably evaluates the activities of public organizations as volunteer organizations, because more than 90% of the surveyed respondents rated their work quite satisfactorily at the beginning of a full-scale war.