Ukraine: Witness the rise of a new Russian Empire, live!

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**chaos0xomega**

So boys and girls, it seems that history has given us the opportunity to observe how a once (somewhat) stable modern democracy turns to dictatorship before our very eyes!

Images/text from here: http://imgur.com/a/lxkbH

In November 2013, after 5 years of talks, Ukraine and the European Union were about to sign a historical agreement to create a free-trade zone between Ukraine and the European Union in exchange for reforms in the political and legal system to make Ukraine a more democratic country.

http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/countries-and-regions/countries/ukraine/

The president, Viktor Yanukovych, suddendly decided to stop the talks and cancel the agreement on November 20, 2013 (that's him on the right).

Viktor Yanukovych made international news in 2011 when he ordered Yulia Tymoshenko to prison.
Yulia Tymoshenkothe, the former prime minister, had just lost the 2010 presidential elections against Viktor Yanukovych and was sent to prison for 7 years for allegedly making disadvantageous natural gas agreements with Russia.
Several members of her former government were charged with various crimes and imprisoned in what appeared to be political vindication.
Yulia Tymoshenkothe was clearly in favor of the Ukraine-UE agreement.

Many Ukrainians want their country to have closer relations with the European Union and fear Russian influence. After all, Ukraine has only been an independent country since December 1991, when the Soviet bloc collapsed.

Peaceful protests started in November 2013, immediately after the president decided to stop the Ukraine-EU agreement. Hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated in the streets of Kiev, the Ukraininan capital.

Since November 2013, the protests did not stop. The president ordered harsh police repression of the protests, people built barricades and things got worse and worse.

Amnesty International has witnessed and condemned several Human Rights violations since November, which are listed here:
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/EUR50/020/2013/en

2011-01-20: Pro-European protesters aim fireworks at Ukrainian riot police in Kiev.

http://www.trust.org/item/20140120230652-tqxqy/

« Dear subscriber, you are registered as a participant in a mass disturbance. »

That's a text message that thousands of Ukrainian protesters simultaneously received on their cell phones on 2014-01-20, as a new law passed on 2014-01-16 prohibiting public demonstrations went into effect. The law carries a 15-year prison sentence if broken.

2014-01-22, police stormed the protesters in Kiev, leaving 5 dead and more than 300 wounded.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/ukraine-police-storm-kiev-protester-barricades-killing-5/story-e6frg6so-1226808228511

http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/ukraine

Sorry, no complementary cat after this.

I just want to call all your attention to this photo:

What.the.actual.feth?

Seriously, I hate to say this, but "In dictatorship Ukraine, police protest YOU!"

**Sgt_Scruffy**

Sad days for democracy and self-rule seems to be the norm over the last few years.

**d-usa**

What's more amazing is how this has pretty much gotten minimal attention on the news over here. I've been following it via the German news, but in the US this is hardly mentioned.

**LordofHats**

If the country's democratic government just collapsed into dictatorship like that, it probably wasn't a very stable democracy to begin with. It wasn't, the government in the Ukraine is a lot like the one in Russia, they're just not pretending anymore.

**Weltenwolf**

This is really featured in german news? I only see one of the Klitschkos every second day, but not much more. Which channel should I try to get more?

**tomball0706**

Jesus, considering how long this has been going on for, I've seen none of this on the news. The pictures are incredibly striking too, the one with a protester swinging a chain around? Priceless

**Breotan**

We should send Kerry over there. It's near Syria anyway and he can't do much worse than he has.

**McNinja**

d-usa wrote:
What's more amazing is how this has pretty much gotten minimal attention on the news over here. I've been following it via the German news, but in the US this is hardly mentioned.

I actually had no idea until a friend of mine posted something about it on facebook. The fact that fething SNOW gets more attention than world-changing events goes to show how dissociated the US media is from the rest of the world.

**d-usa**

Weltenwolf wrote:
This is really featured in german news? I only see one of the Klitschkos every second day, but not much more. Which channel should I try to get more?

I check Spiegel.de on a daily basis and they have been talking about it.

Now granted it's not "top of the page" headline news, but it's usually not far down from the top. I don't think I have seen it mentioned on the front page of CNN.com at all.

Automatically Appended Next Post:

McNinja wrote:
d-usa wrote:
What's more amazing is how this has pretty much gotten minimal attention on the news over here. I've been following it via the German news, but in the US this is hardly mentioned.
I actually had no idea until a friend of mine posted something about it on facebook. The fact that fething SNOW gets more attention than world-changing events goes to show how dissociated the US media is from the rest of the world.

The news interrupted one of our politicians giving an interview to break the story of Bieber getting arrested...

**whembly**

I mentioned that in Red's DKoK thread...

27 Crazy Pictures From The Protest In The Ukraine
For anyone wondering what the hell is happening in the Ukraine, Jerjacques succinctly explains it like this:

The protesters are angry because their government caved in to Vladimir Putin’s bullying, instead of allowing Ukraine to cozy up to the European Union. The Ukrainian president decided he would rather make Mr. Putin happy, instead of making his people happy so that Mr. Putin would allow him to remain president for a long, long time. This is important because it shows that Putin is reconstructing the old soviet empire. He once said the collapse of that empire was the "greatest catastrophe of the 20th century." Now he is laboring to rebuild it, and, as you can see with Ukraine, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia etc., he is making some good progress.

Spoiler:

**AlmightyWalrus**

On the other hand, the opposition is partially neo-nazis as well. There's some rather unsavory types on both sides.

**LordofHats**

AlmightyWalrus wrote:
On the other hand, the opposition is partially neo-nazis as well. There's some rather unsavory types on both sides.

It's a third world country. You pick whoever you'd rather see in charge and pretend their heroes of liberty regardless of truth

**Gentleman_Jellyfish**

Looks like the opening to Gangs of New York

**d-usa**

I wonder how many of our national Evangelists that love to talk a big game on TV would stand in those streets to promote peace...

**Blacksails**

AlmightyWalrus wrote:
On the other hand, the opposition is partially neo-nazis as well. There's some rather unsavory types on both sides.

I read through this to see if anyone made this comment. Beat me to it.

**Minx**

Weltenwolf wrote:
This is really featured in german news? I only see one of the Klitschkos every second day, but not much more. Which channel should I try to get more?

ARD, ZDF and Phoenix regularly report on the situation in the Ukraine. And yes, one of the Klitschkos can be seen every few days as well. But him being popular, known in Germany, and leader of one of the many opposition parties kind of necessitates that.

**Blacksails**

LordofHats wrote:
AlmightyWalrus wrote:
On the other hand, the opposition is partially neo-nazis as well. There's some rather unsavory types on both sides.

It's a third world country. You pick whoever you'd rather see in charge and pretend their heroes of liberty regardless of truth

Second world technically.

*Edit* Damnit, I wasted my 3000th post on a correction!

**PrehistoricUFO**

The photo of the cop's face on fire is pretty crazy, and the warzone-looking one where the truck is covered in ash is nuts too.

I'm going to have to bring this up big time in my human rights class. This topic will have people spitting fire at each other, can't wait.

**daedalus**

Blacksails wrote:
LordofHats wrote:
AlmightyWalrus wrote:
On the other hand, the opposition is partially neo-nazis as well. There's some rather unsavory types on both sides.

It's a third world country. You pick whoever you'd rather see in charge and pretend their heroes of liberty regardless of truth

Second world technically.

*Edit* Damnit, I wasted my 3000th post on a correction!

In my parts, most people don't know what the actual meaning of first world/second world/third world is, causing such strange events as hearing people refer to Russia and China as third world countries.

It doesn't appear to have any meaning or use as a term beyond a vague slur.

**AlmightyWalrus**

daedalus wrote:
Blacksails wrote:
LordofHats wrote:
AlmightyWalrus wrote:
On the other hand, the opposition is partially neo-nazis as well. There's some rather unsavory types on both sides.

It's a third world country. You pick whoever you'd rather see in charge and pretend their heroes of liberty regardless of truth

Second world technically.

*Edit* Damnit, I wasted my 3000th post on a correction!

In my parts, most people don't know what the actual meaning of first world/second world/third world is, causing such strange events as hearing people refer to Russia and China as third world countries.

It doesn't appear to have any meaning or use as a term beyond a vague slur.

I usually troll people by pointing out that Sweden's a third-world country.

**fishy bob**

AlmightyWalrus wrote:
I usually troll people by pointing out that Sweden's a third-world country.

It isn't?

**Breotan**

How can Sweden be a third world country? They have chocolate and a world class bikini team.

**fishy bob**

Breotan wrote:
How can Sweden be a third world country? They have chocolate and a world class bikini team.

I'll give you the bikini team, but chocolate? I believe that's Switzerland

On topic: Ukraine made the front page here today. It gets good coverage in Sweden which is good.

**easysauce**

Front page articles on CNN:

THE LATEST

NEW Dow has worst week since 2011
NEW Source: Bieber blew below 0.08%
Video of Bieber arrest surfaces Video of Bieber arrest surfaces
Biebs: The man and the memes HLN
Ex-Senate aide in child porn case dead
911 call released in theater shooting 911 call released in theater shooting
NEW Student shot at S.C. State
Fined JPMorgan gives CEO 74% raise
Religious group wins Obamacare round
3rd body now in CA murder mystery 3rd body now in CA murder mystery
Arizona inmates put on bread, water
Pope wants to visit U.S., sources say
Mike Huckabee's 'libido' controversy Mike Huckabee's 'libido' controversy
GOP makes big change for 2016
Propane shortage hits Midwest Propane shortage hits Midwest
Ex-athlete sues NCAA for profits Ex-athlete sues NCAA for profits

MORE TOP STORIES

'Revenge Porn King' indicted
U.S. Olympic uniforms 'hideous'?
See Team USA's uniforms | Gallery
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Frat throws racist MLK day party
What Sherman said BEFORE the rant
Cheapest place in the world is ...
Weird ice caves on Lake Superior Weird ice caves on Lake Superior

thank goodness for PBS news, and a smorgasbord of international news outlets.

also, on the vein of Putin

wtf?!?!

**Dark Apostle 666**

RE the whole "Third world" thing, when the term was coined, in the Cold War period, the phrase had a rather different meaning than it does now:
Originally, a first-world country was against communism, while second-world countries were communist, and third-world just meant they weren't involved.

Naturally, the majority of the countries who weren't involved were the countries that had limited wealth, resources or influence, and this is now the common usage of the term - but technically, any country which was neither pro- nor anti-communist is a third world country.

Sorry for that, had a lecture on that a few weeks back and it seems to have stuck!

**mega_bassist**

This is crazy. I didn't know this was going on until last night. I've mentioned it to several co-workers, and no one had heard anything about it. And these protests have been going on for what? Almost two months now? They've only recently become violent from what I've read.

Edit - I also checked CNN, and nothings listed on the World News section. Wow...

**Sienisoturi**

Can somebody please sum up, how is the situation now?

**Wyrmalla**

The BBC's been covering it a lot in their world news section (I watch their 24/7 news channel). What's happening over their isn't surprising, nor is the first case of mass protest in the former USSR in the past few years. At leas to my Western eyes Putin is doing his damnedest to form his own little faschist empire about himself. If it isn't he Nashi its the bullying of the old satellite states. Lots of crap happens in the world every day, its just a pity that Russia's such a large power that nobody has the balls to pull them up for this kind of thing. Still, every country has their faults, we'll just have to see if sixty years down the line our grandkids look at us and ask why we didn't do anything.

**easysauce**

update: violence resumes

A total of more than 100 people were detained following mass riots in the city, Kiev authorities stated on Thursday. Hundreds have sustained injuries. Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs said about 256 police officers have been wounded, 100 of them hospitalized.

Meanwhile, riots have been spreading to other cities, mostly in western Ukraine, with protesters seizing local administration buildings and demanding governors’ resignations.

Demonstrators seized the governors’ offices in the cities of Lvov, Ternopil, and Rivne, and administration buildings in Uzhgorod, Lutsk, Khmelnitsky, Zhitomir, and Sumy.

seriously... the pics coming out of this place are like something out of an IG codex...

http://rt.com/news/kiev-rioters-chaos-police-167/

**djones520**

That administration is going down. A matter of days now at the most. Russia is about to have a new refugee. He can shack up with the two Kyrgyz ex-presidents who have been chased from their country.