Instead of attempting to emulate Russia, Ukraine should build itself along the universal principles of human rights, democracy and prosperity.

Ukraine, under President Viktor Yanukovych, is moving closer to Russia at dizzying speeds on multiple fronts – industrial, military, law enforcement and other cooperation. Once again, Ukraine has leaders looking upon Russia as a big brother worth emulating.

Vladimir Putin’s Russia is, however, a case study in what Ukraine should not become.

Putin likes to justify his anti-democratic rule by saying he is building a strong state. A decade into his authoritarian reign, the Russian state is an ineffective and inefficient kleptocracy that could crack with the next drop in energy prices.

Russia’s economy is also not deserving of emulation. It is undiversified and largely dependent on oil and natural gas exports. The monopolies in these sectors are either state-controlled or state-owned geopolitical weapons not run in the interests of the Russian people.

Elections have long been sham Soviet-like rituals. Dissent is routed mercilessly. Murders of human rights activists and journalists go unsolved, not by accident. Nobody bothers to find and prosecute the guilty because no one in the Kremlin is interested – or worse. This creates fear among a highly marginalized population, who are fed nightly doses of state propaganda on TV stations.

President Dmitry Medvedev admitted in his May 18 speech at Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv that Russia’s legal system remains corrupt and that the structure of its economy is inadequate to meet the challenges of the modern globalized world.

The discontent in Russia is rising, as repeated incidents of terrorism and rising numbers of protest rallies show.

Against this backdrop, Russia amazingly continues to look down on Ukraine. Medvedev talked patronizingly to Shevchenko students, offering to lobby on the nation’s behalf “to ensure that decisions taken are in the interests of our close friends and neighbors.”

Ukraine, with all its problems, has a more tolerant and humane society by comparison. It is also, best of all, more democratic.

The right direction for Ukraine is towards strengthening universal principles of human rights, not a West or East concept. There is nothing about building a prosperous, free and fair society to be learned from the KGB thugs currently in power at the Kremlin.