In Ukraine social democratic ideas don't belong to the programming principles of the political forces, represented in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Moreover, there is no leading political party that would consequently uphold social democratic ideas in the political life of the country. Despite a generally high level of interest in politics amongst Ukrainians, their level of knowledge about the operation of the political system is critically low. Therefore, the political and ideological preferences of the population of Ukraine are fragmented and unstructured. Most of the respondents experience difficulties in identifying themselves within the left-centre-right spectrum. It is also difficult for them to define which ideology corresponds with their beliefs. In general, Ukrainians tend to prefer the centrist political views. Social democracy as the golden mean enjoys the biggest support amongst Ukrainians. Ukrainians mostly welcome the active involvement of the state in the issues pertaining to social protection and demonstrate tendency to paternalism, but disregard, for one, the responsibility of the society members.