In November 2013, a wave of protests began in Ukraine around the country's parliament. main motivation was not signing a free trade trade agreement with the European Union. This episode further exacerbated the differences between the two main Ukrainian political groups: the “pro-Western” and those closest to Russia.
The decision to “postpone” the agreement, taken by the Ukrainian government, was largely motivated by Russian influence in the country, which does not look favorably on its approach to the European bloc. A significant portion of the population and opposition political groups were very unhappy with the submissive posture of the government and started the demonstrations which, despite the resignation of Prime Minister Mykola Azarov in January 2014, still seem to be far from to finish.
Ukraine is a country with a semi-presidential regime, that is, the cabinet and the national executive functions are divided between the president (with a five-year term) and the prime minister, as well as a more prominent influence of the parliament. the Ukrainian president is
Viktor Yanukovych, a controversial personality in the country due to the electoral events related to the Orange Revolution of 2004, which the makes an enemy of a powerful and influential “pro-Western” opposition, the same one that currently leads most of the demonstrations in the parents.Who are the protesters?
Opponents of Yanukovich's government and Azarov's administration are formed by various political fronts, most of them made up of the population. more “Western”, that is, closer culturally to Europe, unlike the 30% of the Russian-speaking inhabitants who have a culture closer to the country neighbor.
The main leader and organizer of the protests is Vitali Klitschko, a sports personality from the country (former boxing champion) and who also became a political figure, with intentions to even run for president in 2015. He currently leads the movement called Udar (“punch”, in free translation), which has been showing a broad front for mobilization.
Another force that is currently making up the demonstrations is the political party Svoboda (which means “freedom”), led by Oleh Tyahnybok and which has a nationalist character, being often accused of having a purely fascist character. This party brings with it other far-right fronts, such as the Bratstvo it's the right sector.
In addition to these fronts, there are still leftist groups and even anarchists who seek to gain space with the demonstrations. This minority group does not aim to defend the treaty with the European Union - the greatest cause of demonstrations - but fight for better social conditions and alleviation of poverty and inequality indices in Ukraine.
But, without a doubt, the most influential opposition front from an international point of view is the homeland, second largest party in the country (only behind the government front), led by Arseniy Yatsenyuk, a militant extremely close to Yulia Tymoshenko, former prime minister of the country arrested for abuse of power in 2009, one of the main personalities of the orange revolution of 2004.
Yulia Tysmoshenko, former prime minister of Ukraine ²
Yulia Tymoshenko and the Orange Revolution of 2004
THE orange revolution it was a series of protests that took to the streets – similar to the one that began in late 2013 – during the 2004 presidential elections and that ended only the following year. The electoral dispute involved current President Viktor Yanukovych (closest to Russia) and Viktor Yushchenko (most favorable to the European Union), resulting in the victory of the former.
The opposition, however, did not accept the official result, mainly due to the numerous frauds, impositions and threats that occurred during the carrying out the election, which culminated in a series of demonstrations, most of them led by Yulia Tymoshenko and her group, which became known like "Yulia Tymoshenko Block”.
The event resulted in the cancellation of the elections and a new second round in 2005, with victory for Victor Tymoshenko, who allied with Yulia, naming her as prime minister of his government. Yanukovich, defeated, managed to be elected only in the subsequent elections, in 2010.
In 2009, Yulia Tymoshenko was accused of abuse of power during an agreement on the sale of natural gas with Russia, an episode that resulted in her quick conviction. Europe accepted the former prime minister's version that his arrest would have been purely political, making his cause famous internationally.
Sanctions against protests
With the resistance of the Ukrainian government in not joining the cause of the demonstrations to sign the free trade agreement with the European Union, the militants began to demand the resignation of the country's president and prime minister, appointed as those primarily responsible for Russian influence in decisions nationals.
Alleging that the protesters used illegal forms and exaggerated violence during the protests, the parliament passed a series of laws to repress them harshly, mainly through the use of force policeman. These measures were seriously criticized by the international community, especially after the killing of protesters in January 2014. The United States even threatened to impose sanctions against Ukraine if human rights violations continued. On January 28, after a series of negotiations between the government and the opposition, the president decided to repeal the laws to repress protests.
Mykola Azarov's Resignation
The height of tension in the country began on January 23, 2014, when five protesters died in confrontation with the police, in addition to numerous wounded. On the same day, negotiations were carried out without success, which led to the invasion of several government offices in different regions of the country. In addition, opponents also managed to invade the Ukrainian house, in the city of Kiev, and the Justice ministry, which came under your control.
Two days later, the Ukrainian government, through heightened tensions, offered the leader's prime minister posts Arseniy Yatsenyuk and that of deputy prime minister to boxer Vitali Klitschko, offer promptly refused by opposition. However, negotiations continue.
On January 28, with the aim of dampening the momentum of the demonstrations, Prime Minister Mykola Arazov asked for his resignation. However, the strategy, at least so far, has not had any effect and opponents continue to protest demanding the resignation of President Yanukovych as well.
Russian and European influence on Ukraine
The occurrence of the political crisis in Ukraine, with the intensification of protests, is the trigger for a political instability that has marked the region for several years. The extinct Soviet Union – of which the Ukrainian territory was integrated – industrialized through a structural integration involving all its republics, with the aim of ensuring greater stability territorial. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the ex-Soviet countries were very interdependent, a fact that remains today in many respects.
Currently, Ukraine is commercially and economically dependent on Russia, mainly because it supplies it with natural gas, a source of primary energy to the country, and for being the main buyer of countless raw materials produced by the economy Ukrainian. When Ukraine approached the European Union, Russia offered better economic deals and, according to some versions, it did not officially confirmed, threatened to cut gas supplies and the purchase of Ukrainian products, in addition to imposing restrictions customs.
On the other hand, the European Union, especially Germany, seeks to expand its influence over Asian nations closer to the West, such as Ukraine. With this, the European bloc would be able to weaken Russian dominance in the region and also reduce power of the CIS (Community of Independent States), an economic bloc formed by the former republics Soviets.
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¹ photobank gallery and Shutterstock
² Mark III Photonics and Shutterstock
By Rodolfo Alves Pena
Graduated in Geography
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/geografia/crise-politica-na-ucrania.htm
