I am out of the woodwork, Pat. The "dictator" won the election in 2010. Be that as it may, the struggle is about whether the Ukraine remains in the Russian orbit or moves closer to the EU and the West. The history of the Ukraine and its relationship with the Soviet Union and the West is complicated. There is a significant Russian ethnic presence in the Ukraine. They are living in the Eastern part of the country, which happens to have the heaviest concentration of industry and is the wealthiest region of the country. From a WP article:
"Roughly speaking, about four out of every six people in Ukraine are ethnic Ukrainian and speak the Ukrainian language. Another one in six is ethnic Russian and speaks Russian. The last one-in-six is ethnic Ukrainian but speaks Russian. This map shows where each of those three major groups tend to live. ( about five percent of Ukrainians are minorities who don't fit in any of those three categories.)"
"Here's why this matters for what's happening in Ukraine now: Since it declared independence in 1991, the country has been politically divided along these ethnic-linguistic lines. In national elections, people from districts dominated by that majority group (Ukrainian-speakers who are ethnically Ukrainian) tend to vote for one candidate. And people from districts with lots of ethnic Russians or Russian-speakers tend to vote for the other candidate."
I can recall one other European who was concerned about protecting his ethnic minorities in other countries.
