The hardened positions between the government and the opposition and the spread of anti-government protests to the country's western regions have increased the likelihood of a severe administrative crisis, potentially involving a power vacuum and protracted political uncertainty.
Ukraine, the biggest country in Eastern Europe, is sandwiched between Russia and the West. It is something of a pawn between Russia and the West. For the West, the EU trade deal would mean its reach would spread further east; by contrast, the Russians see the Ukraine as key to holding on to their turf. It was a vital player in the downfall of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1991. But six years later, through the newly elected President Viktor Yanukovych, the head of the Party of Regions, it returned to the grips of its powerful oligarchs and Russia. So the people got neither the rule of law nor the democracy they had imagined. Politics of Ukraine take place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic and of a multi-party system. European leaders blamed the Russians for the crisis and even floated the idea of sanctions against Ukraine if more blood is shed. But in the Europe-Russia tug of war the Russians are more motivated.
The EU has, over several years, negotiated the most comprehensive association and deep free trade agreements ever, and it is ready to sign these with Ukraine. They require the country to adopt hundreds of EU laws, regulations and standards, and necessitate much-needed reforms of Ukraine's often dysfunctional political, legal and state institutions. In return, the EU would abolish visas for Ukrainian citizens and open its common market of 500 million consumers to Ukrainian companies, resulting i...
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...ssia—a major trading partner, energy supplier, and holder of Ukrainian debt—probably has more means at its disposal to punish Ukraine.
Yanukovych had to give away the pipelines this year and Ukrainian sovereignty next year by agreeing to join the CIS Customs Union in exchange for Putin's support for his re-election. Russia will therefore play the game in 2015 but I am not sure if the West will. The main problem is not Russia or the EU it is the Ukraine itself. It was president Yanukovych who decided, that he will not sign the agreement because Russia but not the EU can solve his budget problem in short term. He never had the goal to sign the agreement, he only wanted to have a better price from Russia and the EU was the bargaining chip. The choice before Yanukovych is actually quite simple. He can save himself and the country, or he can destroy himself and Ukraine.
International politics as one may imagine includes foreign affairs. This is why the topic and focus of this paper revolves around the current event within Eastern Europe. It will focus on both Russia, Ukraine, and the world, and from it, it will be analyzed by using the resources provided within class. After all it is a International Politics course, and one of the best ways to effectively put the skills and knowledge to use is to focus on an event or current event. The paper will attempt to go over in a chronological order of the events that has happened, and what is happening currently over in Ukraine. Afterwards, an analyzed input will be implemented providing reasoning behind Russia's actions, and actions of the world, and potentially some solutions.
Up until 1954, Ukraine was a crucial and highly profitable member of the USSR. Strategically placed between Russia and the rest of Europe, Ukraine contains many valuable natural gas pipelines. Crimea is autonomously governed peninsula owned by Ukraine, about two and a half time the sizes of the Island of Hawaii. There are roughly twice as many ethnic Russians as there are Ukrainians and the majority feel closer ties to Russia [1]. Anti-government protests turned violent and in late February, the Ukrainian government fired on protestors, killing dozens and wounding hundreds [2]. On March 6th, the leaders of Crimea stated that they intended to join Russia and are planning a vote on March 16th [3].
Russian agression in Crimea and East Ukraine so far has been unpunished by America and her European allies, even though Russian “President” Vladimir Putin’s regime is so similar to the dictators of the past. So, does the aggressive behavior visible today warrant any action? It seems that the answer of America is no. While there is a good argument for diplomacy in this situation, it is still necessary to have some kind of intervention in Ukraine due to the danger of history repeating itself, to prevent Putin and by extension Russia from getting too much power, and to save Ukraine and democracy. Although the United States is taking steps towards a global (USA and Europe) involvement in Ukraine through more sanctions on Russia. Even though many people disagree with foreign intervention, the Ukraine crisis is just too urgent and important to ignore.
With the fall of the pro-Russian government Russia had lost basically a very important ally to the European Union and NATO. President Vladimir Putin took a great risk and invaded Crimea that resulted in strong reactions from the West. Even Russia’s closest allies supported the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
has been aiming to demolish the Ukrainian nation and devour the country to rebuild the USSR
The big crisis in Ukraine is starting to get out of hand. The government cannot even figure out what to do, and is getting kicked out of office. There are street protests happening all over Ukraine especially at Kyiv’s Independence Square. There is civil unrest against Yanukovych because he did not do what the people wanted to have. After everything is starting to cool down, Russian troops start to enter the country. The crisis was getting so far out of hand that the US and the EU had to figure out how to help, so they got involved in the crisis. The Ukraine conflict was triggered by Yanukovych declining the EU deal, and when everything was getting settled down in Ukraine, Russia invades Ukraine.
To sum it up, Euromaidan is not simply about not signing the Association Agreement, but the development of Ukraine as a country as a whole. It has been hanging on between post-Soviet autocracies in the east and highly democratizing and prosperous neighbors to the west for 22 years.
"Russia deal saved Ukraine from bankruptcy - PM Azarov."BBC News Europe, December 18, 2013. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25427706 (accessed February 7, 2014).
Four years ago, violating the Budapest Memorandum paragraphs where were discussed that Ukraine exchanged the status of a country with nuclear weapons for guarantees of security and territorial integrity, the so-called "referendum" was held in the Ukrainian
This paper seeks to discover what it means to be Ukrainian. The concept of the Ukrainian national identity has developed and changed many times over throughout the history of this land. This is especially true in the years following the Russian Revolution in 1917. However this paper will begin with an in-depth look at the meaning of a national identity. It will then look at several influential people who helped to shape this idea over approximately the last three hundred years. Finally, this paper with look into the major events of Ukrainian history, which helped to shape both the people and the physical landscape. These major events will begin with the Battle of Poltava in 1709 and continue on until Ukraine’s recognized independence.
Jack Donnelly states that “Theories are beacons, lenses of filters that direct us to what, according to the theory, is essential for understanding some part of the world.” These various theories, or lenses for viewing the world help us understand the way in which countries interact and why things occur in the field of international relations. The two main schools of thought in the field are Realism and Liberalism. One must understand these theories in order to be able to understand what is happening in the world. Understanding the filters that are Liberalism and Realism, one can look to make some sort of understanding as to what is happening right now between the Ukraine and Russia. The subsequent annexation of the province of Crimea by Russia is of paramount importance to multi governmental organisations like the United Nations and the European Union who are looking to understand this event from the Realist perspective as well as the Liberal paradigm.
In a Post soviet environment World has evovled around a unipolar system with united states having a preponderance in international matters. The remanants of the cold war still haunting europe. Most of the Eastern European nations formally allied with soviet union are now turing away from russia towards European union. The Reasons for this paradigm shift owes a lot to the democratic ways of the liberal western world and the economic ties and stability being offered to its allies. Hitherto Ukraine was in a dilemma whether to join the western block or to to under the patronage and shadow of Russia. The Multi ethnic population of Ukraine has different opinions. Some favour Russia and others favour European union. Their choices seems to be motivated by geographic and cultural proximity. The Immediate cause of the current crisis traces its origin to the Ukrainian presidents descision to forfeit an agreement with the european union. And Endorsing the russian aid in terms of a bail out plan and an added gas price reduction. So the current crisis has far reaching political and economic ramifications. If russia pulls out of the economic bail out package there needs to be an alternative. European union has a responsibility to ensure the regional peace. A military action in Ukraine would further deteriorate the situation and may escalate it to a multiparty conflict.
Crimea’s history with Russia begins in 1783, when it became an annexed state (Taylor). However, to most of those within the western sphere of schooling most commonly learn about Crimea from the Crimean war. It occurred from 1853 to 1856 and involved Russia, Sardinia, France, Britain, and the Ottoman Empire. After three years of arduous fighting Russia eventually lost the war, but it did manage the keep the treasured peninsula. After the fall of the Russian Empire, in 1921 Crimea became “ The Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic” and unquestionably part of the Soviet Union. In the following decades, Crimea much like the rest of Europe endured the strain of the Second World War, but surprisingly in 1945 it was gifted from Russia to the Ukraine. According to Taylor, there are a couple of possi...
The Ukrainian crisis was a result of social upheaval against the former president, Mr. Yanukovich, who decided to pull out of the association with the European Union (BBC News, 2014). The upheaval that lasted for about two months resulted in more than 100 people killed (NY Times, 2014). In February 22 Mr. Yanukovich disappears and the opposition takes control over the government in Ukraine (BBC News, 2014). Upon learning that Mr. Yanukovich is currently residing in Kazakhstan, the new government of Ukraine requests from Kazakhstan the extradition of the overthrown president, who is accused of crime against the Ukrainian citizenry.
Furthermore, the Ukraine and Russia have always shared a history; as both states are embodiments of the process of transformation, that have risen from the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the end of the Cold War. The Ukraine’s material legacy is demographically and territorially close to Russia, thereby, tying the Ukraine to Russia.