by Julia Ioffe, New Republic, USA – I will not explain to you what is happening in Kiev tonight other than to say that it is Vladimir Putin’s worst nightmare. The last time that this many people came out to the Independence Square (the Maidan) in Kiev, nine years ago, protesters undid the election of Victor Yanukovich and brought to power a Western-friendly government. In the process, they scared the living daylights out of Putin. The reforms he began at the beginning of his term to limit electoral competition, sideline his critics, disable civil society, and atomize the population took on a renewed urgency. Out of the turmoil in Ukraine in 2004-2005 came the strange Russian concept of “sovereign democracy” (our way, when we’re good and ready, i.e., never) and the often terrifying pro-Kremlin youth group Nashi run by a man who used to run with a gang that beheaded its victims…
Leave a Reply