The protesters in Kiev and smaller towns in Western Ukraine are not stopping their protests against the government despite all attempts the national parliament, the prime minister and local governments have made to appease the protesters. Now 14 people have died from new clashes between the protesters against the police. The majority of the protesters have been peaceful and non violent. But it is the violent, right wing and nationalistic (borderline anarchists) protesters sometimes believed to belong to the Svoboda Party that have been causing the most chaos in the four months long protest. Protesters are still wearing helmets and military fatigue barricading themselves in Midan (Maidan), in Kiev City Hall and other government buildings or throwing molotovs (petro bombs) at nearby offices. It is not only happening in Kiev but in smaller towns too. A new organization has emerged called the Maidan Council that officially deals with the government and has its on spokesman similar to the transitional councils created by Tahrir Square protesters and Libyans during Feb 17th protests in Benghazi. Just as the protesters have refused to compromise until the end, the Maidan Council still seeks to negotiate with the government while the protest continue.
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| Ukraine aka "The borderlands" surrounded by multiple borders and the sea and regional powers |
The name Ukraine ironically roughly translates to borderlands or the marsh. It borders Russia, Poland, Belarus, Moldova and Romania as well as the Black Sea. As a country, its been pulled left and right, East and West. Ukrainians have their own identity and have constantly fought Russification against both the Soviet Union and Russia. Ukraine is often seen as being split into five significant regions: West, East, South, Central and Crimea. When language is spoken and written in Ukrainian or Russian it tends not purposely to follow the Western and Eastern regions divisions. Language policy and linguistic politics are even further in tangled in the five regions against the two main regions. During the days of Soviet Union, Ukraine was seen as the breadbasket and also suffered a horrendous fame in 1930s. Ukraine has been leaning for many years if not decades towards the West.
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