Indeed, more than 80% of Ukraine's Russified eastern districts voted for independence in 1991, and the 1999 parliamentary and presidential elections did not split the country nearly as much as the 2004 presidential elections did. A survey in 2001 of the two supposedly most polarized cities, Donetsk and Lviv, showed convergence in their approval of independent Ukraine, with only 1% of respondents in Lviv and 5% in Donetsk preferring that Ukraine be divided into two or more countries.
事实上，早在1991年80%乌克兰东部的俄化领土就曾投票选择独立，但1999年的议会和总统选举对国家造成的恶劣影响远远赶不上2004年的总统大选。2001年在顿涅茨克和利沃夫这两个分化最为严重的城市做过民意测验，结果他们都赞成成立独立的乌克兰国，只有1%的利沃夫人和5%的顿涅茨克人希望把乌克兰分成两个甚至更多的国家。