Maidan

Oksana,your analysis is interesting and well thought out, but living in Ukraine for a least 6 months of the year, I have encountered other
viewpoints. Your analysis reflects a western viewpoint and mindset that is alien to most citizens of Ukraine. They are a product of their unique culture and often tragic history.
Travelling around Ukraine I often hear the comment, "What we need is a Pinochet or a Margaret Thatcher. They respect Yanukovich because he has a habit of punching officials out. This is hardly your vision of a civil, democratic society as found in the West.
What Ukrainian citizens want can be briefly listed as such:
1. Jobs that pay a living wage which should be about $400/month U.S.
that is, 2,000 hryven/month. 70 to 80% of the population and
most of the pensioners get a minimum wage or pension of 400 hryven
or $80/month U.S. This has forced thousands of Ukrainian citizens
to seek employment in Russia, Poland Italy, Spain, Portugal and
even Ireland. Hundreds of thousands of others have emigrated.
2. Ukrainians want to live in a society free from gross corruption at
almost every level of human endeavour. e.g. Entrance to all post
secondary institutions of higher education must be purchased with
bribes of approx. $3,000 U.S. Graduates must pay thousands of
dollars to employers to secure a job. Even workers pay their
employers in order to be hired.
3. Ukrainian citizens aren't interested in Western "democracy" and
the language issue or relations with Russia don't concern them.
They oppose NATO because they don't want to get involved or die in
any American sponsored military adventures.
This is where it's at in a nutshell and we have to try to understand
these people and not try to make them over in our own image. It's a
futile endeavour that just won't work.