Yeah but at least they already exported many of their hot women...
There is no comparison to the USSR and people should be sophisticated enough to see the differences. Even if Russia is a second rate two bit tyranny this is nothing compared to the worldwide empire Iron Curtain USSR that controlled half the world and was ready for WWIII with us at the drop of a hat.
Communism never dies, it just goes into remission for a while........
Putin is a communist with a makeover and an image team.
"One man, Shahid, said the Orange parties were full of the descendants of Ukrainians who fought with the Nazis during the Second World War."
This is true, which is just like saying at the Orange parties are full of Ukrainians. Many Ukrainians fought on the side of the Nazis in World War II---just as the Finns did---in an attempt to gain freedom from their primary oppressor---Russia.
After Stalin starved 10 million Ukrainians to death in the 1930s, he moved a big percentage of their population to Siberia and replaced them with Russians. It is these Russians who support the idea of the Ukraine again becoming a Russian colony.
The case for supporting all the former Soviet republics in their independence from Russia seems to be clear---on the surface. However, we do need to consider the realpolitik of the situation. Europe we know, is so weak (in terms of will) as to virtually not be a factor militarily. So the question is, is the US powerful enough, vis-à-vis Russia, to successfully project power right up to the Russian border?
Personally, my intuitive feeling is that we are not. As such, perhaps we should be careful about committing US prestige to the struggle in this area. I'm not saying I'm definitely against it---I really haven't figured it out yet.
"In 2004, millions of Ukrainians flooded this square to protest rigged presidential elections that handed victory to the pro-Russian incumbent Viktor Yanukovich."
Will the Belorus and Russia ever have a chance for free elections - sigh.