A misguided Ukrainian revolt

Monster rallies in Kiev’s Independence Square are a daily occurrence despite nighttime temperatures plummeting below zero. Over 300,000 Ukrainians protesting their President’s hesitation in signing-up to a trade deal with the European Union (EU) that could open the door to Ukraine’s full membership are determined to stay the course.
After all, it was sheer people power, an uprising dubbed “The Orange Revolution” that cleansed the country of electoral fraud and voter intimidation eight years ago, safeguarding free and fair presidential ballots.
On the face of it, it’s easy to sympathize with those engaging in the current civil unrest; people who fail to understand as to why President Viktor Yanukovych backed away from a long-negotiated trade pact with the EU at the nth-minute and so accuse him of being Moscow’s puppet. But the situation isn’t that simple. Protesters can afford to indulge in ideological niceties whereas the man at the helm doesn’t have that luxury; he has to be more concerned with pragmatism and realpolitik. For one thing, Russian-Ukrainian relations go far back in time. Ukraine was once known as “Little Russia” and was one of the USSR’s founding members. Moscow is Kiev’s largest trading partner and Ukraine benefits from regular influxes of Russian tourists and inexpensive Russian gas. Secondly, the two countries are geographically attached. The Ukrainian language is close to that of Belarus, another country within Russia’s sphere of influence.
It’s only natural that the Russian President Vladimir Putin doesn’t welcome a country affiliated with the EU and a potential member of NATO hugging its borders in the same way former US President John Kennedy didn’t appreciate Soviet nuclear missiles deployed on the island of Cuba in 1962. Moreover, the Russian leader has expressed regret over the break-up of the USSR on several occasions and isn’t about to watch Ukraine slip out of his nation’s orbit lying down.
Putin has offered the Ukrainian government various economic incentives and loans if it agrees to join the Eurasian Customs Union that may well be a precursor to a Eurasian Economic bloc comprising Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova — and potentially Turkey, Syria and India. That partnership has the hallmarks of economic success and from the standpoint of stability it’s more attractive than a EU trade pact that would create friction, not to mention conflict, between Kiev and Moscow.
Citizens from newbie EU member countries are not always being as warmly welcomed by some in so-called “Old Europe” as they’re entitled to be. For instance, British Prime Minister David Cameron regrets permitting immigrants from Poland and other Eastern European countries to enter Britain in 2004 and is resolved to prevent Romanians, Bulgarians and nationals of new member countries whose economies aren’t up to par with his own from living and working in the UK. On Monday, pro-EU protests swelled although Brussels has suspended negotiations on the trade pact citing frustration with mixed signals emanating from President Yanukovych, who’s due to sign a trade accord with Russia on Tuesday. Trust US Senator John McCain to get in on the act! He’s turned up in Kiev to tell demonstrators “your destiny lies in Europe…America stands with you.” Yes, the Greeks thought the same and now they’re giving away their own children because they can’t afford to feed them.
The western media is rooting for the opposition and romanticizing their cause as a battle for the nation’s very soul when, in reality, it’s a cutthroat geopolitical power play that exploits the aspirations of ordinary Ukrainians with illusions and wholly unrealistic dreams. Ukrainians against the government believe their home is in Europe but with rising xenophobia in EU states, due in part to fear of foreigners taking jobs and altering cultures, disappointment awaits.

Email: [email protected]