LSURussian and Others: Situation in Ukraine...

quote:

---

Last November, the Ukrainian President unilaterally decided to instead strengthen ties with Russia.

---

Translation: Viktor Yanukovych got paid and/or coerced by Russia into fricking the Ukrainian people.

Wow, great post

The current instability is driven by economic factors, the failure of the political class, and longstanding cultural divides within Ukraine.

Ukraine is in dire economic straights, the government is nearly bankrupt and it's facing several debt payment over the next year that it can not afford to make. Kiev approached the EU in the hope that Brussels would bail them out, but the resulting trade agreement fell well short of their requirements. They needed direct cash infusions that the EU was unwilling or incapable of providing. That explains why Kiev turned back to Moscow. Moscow in turn is worried about an economic collapse in Ukraine. The Russian economy is slowing and many worry that a downturn in Ukraine could spread.

Culture is critical as well. Ukraine was once part of Russia, but it spent centuries under foreign domination. The Polish-Lithuanian Kingdom seized much of Ukraine, converting the natives to Catholicism as they did. Ukrainian nationalism is rooted in this split. On one side is the former Polish territory which is Catholic, and on the other you have the still Orthodox region which was never part of the Polish Kingdom. The popularity of Maidan neatly overlays the lines of the old Polish state.

Making matters worse, you have Crimea a former Russian province that was gifted to Ukraine in 1954 by Nikita Khrushchev. Crimea remains very Russian, and it's the home of Russia's Black Sea Fleet. The residents of Crimea have little interest in being Ukrainian.

Unfortunately for all sides, the Ukrainian state has never been able to reconcile the long-standing cultural cleavages between each region.

The political leadership has been awful as well. For the past twenty years Ukraine has been ruled by a venal group of oligarchs bent on enriching themselves at the expense of their country. They appear to have little interest in building anything. Some of these oligarchs favor closer ties with Russia, others with the West. They'll go where the money is.

-

A couple of closers.

Viktor Yanukovych isn't Moscow's man. He's spent the last few years trying to play Moscow and Brussels off each other. Apparently Putin despises him.

Yulia Tymoshenko is very charismatic and she was a powerful politician. Prison seems to have weakened her though, she does not look or sound like the women she was. That's unfortunate because she's one of the few people that could bring stability to Ukraine.

quote:

---

How awesome is that?

---

The opposition to knowledge is strong here.

quote:

---

Can some of you with more knowledge on the region help fill me in on the basics or link me to some reputable sources?

---

With the fall of the Soviet Union, 2 economically similar countries chose different paths.



Decisions have consequences.

quote:

---

Also understand this is more spin that the country is broken in ethnic areas as part of propaganda to make Russia look like its doing a favor.

---

there are articles I read recently stating while areas speak Russian and identify as Russian its not a "tribal" view, they rather unify under Ukraine. Russia will say they need to protect those people from the dissidents that overthrew the government. I know Crimea is a different story

One little thing that is not known by many is that the original capital of Russia was the city Kiev and the country called Kievan Rus. Although it has not been true for a few centuries sometimes the cultural boundaries stay rooted in peoples minds and still hold a certain amount of sway with them. The best example of that is what occurred with the crumbling of Yugoslavia after the death of Tito it took shape as separate parts aligned by the dominant religion of a region. Croats were the land of Catholics, Serbia was that of ethnic Eastern Orthodoxy, Monte Negro was that of Muslims descended from people that had been converted over time from Ottoman Turks. The war in the region was more like another stage of the Crusades.

Think of pipelines running through Ukraine into Europe, the Ruskies supply the Euros with lots of fuel. Its a huge cash cow for the Ruskies.

Think of the Naval Black Sea port in Crimea. This is a warm water port for the Ruskie Navy.

pootie is a kgb thug doing the dirty work for the russian mafia.

That is all.