Analysis: Amid protests, Ukraine more divided than ever
KYIV, Ukraine – The mayor of a western city warned that his police would fight any troops sent in by the president. The governor of an eastern region posted an image of an opposition lawmaker beaten bloody, saying he couldn’t contain his laughter.
Two months into the antigovernment protests, the two sides are only moving further apart.
To be sure, Ukraine has never been monolithic. Russia and Europe have vied for dominance for centuries, fostering deep cultural differences between the mostly Ukrainian-speaking western and central regions that yearn for ties with the West, and the Russian-speaking east and south that looks to Russia for support.
As the crisis has deepened, each side has grown stronger in its convictions – and those who stood in the middle have been forced to choose sides.
The demonstrations began with an old question: Should Ukraine follow a European path or move closer into Russia’s sphere? In November, President Viktor Yanukovych – after years of touting a political and economic treaty with the European Union – had abruptly walked out on it in favor of a bailout loan from Russia. But the crisis changed significantly a week later when riot police violently broke up a small, peaceful rally in Kyiv’s central square.
Suddenly, the calls for EU integration were replaced with demands for Yanukovych’s ouster and a new government that would guarantee democratic freedoms. Slogans such as “Ukraine is Europe” were replaced by “Down with the gang!”
The differing visions are rooted in cultural realities. To the west, protest-friendly Lviv feels like a typical European city, with cobblestone streets, Catholic churches and outdoor cafes. To the east, the Yanukovych stronghold of Kharkiv is an industrial city with massive Soviet architecture and a giant Lenin statue.
As more than 100 protesters languish in jail and lawmakers’ debates on solving the crisis make little progress, opposition leader Vitali Klitschko warned the president Tuesday that without a resolution to the crisis the country risks falling off a cliff.
“The temperature of society is growing,” he said. “I told the president that we have to immediately take a decision, because the future of Ukraine depends on this decision.”