Yesterday was Black Friday in the west – people out shopping; in Ukraine, today will be remembered as Black Saturday – people running for their lives. Have the Ukrainians been shopped by the Europeans?Ukraine: Understanding the #Euromaidan Protests
It may seem to many that the #Euromaidan protests in Ukraine grew out of nowhere and overnight, but this is not the case. There is a long history behind the protests and the government’s decision to back out of what was supposed to be a historical and significant move toward EU integration was only the last straw for the citizens of Ukraine.
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Tens of thousands gather in pro-EU march in Kiev Tens of thousands of Ukrainians defied a ban on protests Dec 1 by marching through central Kiev |
With Saturday bringing news of police in Kiev brutally breaking up what had been a peaceful pro-EU protest, it’s even clearer now than before the botched partnership summit in Vilnius that things could get out of hand on a large scale. Perhaps what stands out the most about Ukraine is the sense of slow-motion crisis: an indigenous “colour revolution” that was diverted, every economic indicator pointing to an old-style IMF program very soon, and months of signals from Russia that its Eurasian Customs Union would be an offer that its neighbours couldn’t refuse.
Erkan's Field Diary 