In The Ukraine

Two post compromise posts worth seeing

Agreement in Ukraine: 12 Things You Should Know

An agreement was brokered by EU leaders between Ukraine’s ruling party and the opposition. Here are twelve points you should know as the country goes forward.

1. A transitional government will take over in the next ten days. Executive powers are due to be taken over by the new speaker of the parliment, Oleksandr Turchynov, a member of Tymoshenko’s Fatherland party.
2. New presidential elections will take place on May 25, 2015. Yanukovych has been impeached, accused of human rights abuses, and declared “unable to carry out his duties” by the parliment. The vote was unanimous. Yanukovych has responded by saying that he is the “legitimately elected president” and that he will not resign.
3. Ukraine will return to the 2004 constitution – which gave Ukraine a strong parliament and a weak president.
4. Yulia Tymoshenko has been freed from prison. She and her party seem to be rapidly gaining in power as events unfold.
5. Read On

Ukrainian Smears and Stereotypes — Anne Applebaum

…this is not a fight over which language to speak or which church to attend. It is a deep, fundamental disagreement about the nature of the state, the country’s international allegiances, its legal system, its economy, its future. Given how much Ukrainians have at stake, the least we outsiders can do is avoid foolish stereotypes when discussing their fate.