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| Protesters lobbying against now ousted President Yanukovych |
Today I read an article from TIME magazine about the uprising in Ukraine. The article is called "This Isn't Over", was written by Michael Crowley and Simon Shuster, and can be found in the edition from March 10, 2014. After the former president of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, was driven out of the country by protesters, the shattered country is now struggling to maintain order, and rebuild its struggling economy.
The country is currently very unstably being kept from descending into utter madness as elections for the new president approach, scheduled for March 25th. The main candidates are ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, former professional boxer Vitali Klitschko (who has no past political experience), Petro Poroshenko (who made a fortune off of chocolate, and supported the protests), and Dmitro Yarosh (a strong nationalist). Until the elections take place, Baptist pastor Oleksandr Turchinov is acting President of the country.
Politically, Ukraine is also in a bad position. With the fall of Yanukovych from power, Ukraine is attempting to forge bonds with Western Europe, and eventually want to be accepted into the EU (European Union). Russia, and specifically its President: Vladimir Putin, want to keep Ukraine in their clutches. Ukraine used to be extremely closely tied to Russia, which is the main reason the protests started: the protesters felt that the EU could offer their country greater stability, and help them keep corruption out of their government.
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| Russian President Vladimir Putin |
In addition to Putin not wanting Ukraine to turn to European countries for help, the EU may be unwiling to accept Ukraine at all. With the amount of countries in it whose economies are already barely able to be handed (such as Greece and Portugal), there's a good chance they will decline to take on a country whose economy has become as unstable as Ukraine's. Ukraine also cannot separate entirely from Russia, as they get the majority of their energy from Russia, who is also their main partner for trade.
This relates to 17th century England, where Oliver Cromwell led the forces that overthrew King Charles I. He then ended up becoming "Lord Protector" of England, essentially making him an absolute monarch. The people of England agreed to overthrow Charles because he was a tyrant, but they ended up hating Cromwell's rule at least as much as Charles'. This relates to Ukraine, because they have successfully gotten rid of their old president, but are now facing an uncertain future. If they don't choose their next leader carefully, they may end up with an "Oliver Cromwell" on their hands.
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| The Ukrainian Flag |
Article: "THIS ISN'T OVER" by Michael Crowley and Simon Shuster, Time Magazine, March 10, 2014.
Picture of Protests from Gre4ka
Picture of Vladimir Putin from Wikipedia- Vladimir Putin
Picture of the Ukrainian Flag from Wikipedia- Day of the National Flag (Ukraine)
Great job! This was a great informative post about the situation in the Ukraine. I really like how your post is about a very relevant topic, something that is changing day by day.
ReplyDeleteGreat job! Before reading this post, I had only heard a little about what was happening in Ukraine, and Russia's involvement, but now, I have a much more in-depth understanding of the issue. I found it very interesting that there are so many candidates for president, one of who doesn't have any political background. I thought you made a great connection to the time period we have been studying, and the overthrowing of the government. Let's hope Ukraine makes out better than England did! I found this post to be very interesting since it was about something that is happening literally right now. Overall, nice job!
ReplyDeleteWritten by Charlie Decker on his mother's account, I agree with you on how this changes Ukraine and will be remembered in History. Liked how you connect overthrowing to taking over. Good work
ReplyDeleteI am also intrigued by the events in Ukraine. Your point about the EU already having problems with Portugal and Greece is a good one and could be a deciding factor into the EU accepting Ukraine or not. I liked how you made the connections with Cromwell and Ukraine's future. Nice job!
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