Leaders in east Ukraine vote to take control of their areas

Reuters via Yahoo! ^ | February 22, 2014

[cunning_fish]

KIEV (Reuters) - Leaders of mainly Russian-speaking regions of eastern Ukraine that are loyal to President Viktor Yanukovich challenged the legitimacy of the national parliament on Saturday and said they were taking control of their territories.

The move appeared to increase the possibility of a split in the sprawling former Soviet republic of 46 million, despite denials by the leaders that this was their intention.

The Kiev parliament has passed a series of measures that would reduce the president's powers and pave the way to the formation of a national unity government and early presidential elections.

Mikhaylo Dobkin, Governor of Kharkiv region in northeast Ukraine, told regional leaders meeting in the city: "We're not preparing to break up the country. We want to preserve it."

But a resolution adopted at the meeting said: "The decisions taken by the Ukrainian parliament in such circumstances cause doubts about their ... legitimacy and legality."

It added: "The central state organs are paralyzed. Until the constitutional order and lawfulness are restored ... we have decided to take responsibility for safeguarding the constitutional order, legality, citizens' rights and their security on our territories."

One speaker urged the creation of civilian patrols to restore order. Another said those gathered should fear reprisals if anti-Yanukovich protesters in Kiev seize power in the whole of the country.

With people at the meeting chanting "Russia! Russia!", the atmosphere contrasted with the mood in the capital Kiev where protesters want the Moscow-backed Yanukovich to resign.

[dfwgator]

The Western part WAS part of Poland...Lwow is Polish!

[boxlunch]

Excellent post!

I agree, he was elected by a corrupted election process.
Imagine Obama being elected by a corrupt election process, putting in his corrupt cronies into power;, and then intimidating Congress into putting a past conservative president in jail. (Not too hard to imagine the first two of the scenario, he hasn’t been so bold to try #3 yet.)
Yulia Tymoshenko was working to get rid of the corruption in government and she paid for going against the oligarchs and former soviet corrupt mafia types. I’m so happy to hear she’s been released.

[familyop]

The Interpreter

London-based Herzen Foundation and the New York-based Institute of Modern Russia

Earlier today:

Excerpt:

This is not a coincidence. Yanukovych is reportedly in Kharkiv, a pro-Yanukovych stronghold (or it’s supposed to be), and he’s at a conference of the “Ukrainian Front,” a collection of politicians, and pro-government street thugs, who are willing to die for the President. But as a recent article by John Schindler, on The XX Committee, points out, the Ukranian Front appears to be deeply influenced and controlled by the Russian government. In fact, the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Russian State Duma, Alexei Pushkov, is present in Kharkiv right now. Here’s what the report has to say about the nature of the Ukrainian Front:

It seems Moscow is not pleased with its protege Yanukovych and his inability to crush the opposition, so it is forming a new grouping to “assist” the hardliners. Given that the appearance of the Ukrainian Front has been heralded with a birth announcement in the Kremlin’s official newspaper, Russian approval and support can be assumed.

Moreover, the embrace of Stalinist-era rhetoric by the Ukrainian Front indicates a great deal, and will serve as a needless irritant towards Ukrainians who detest Stalin and his murderous legacy. In a similar vein, Communist activists have unveiled a bust of Stalin in Western Ukraine, a provocation that is about as offensive to most locals there as a statue of Hitler would be in the rest of Europe. Of course, hailing Stalin’s victories in the 1940′s is of a piece with the current Kremlin vilification campaign against all Ukrainians who do not want their country to be subjugated by Russia, a nasty agitprop line that regrettably has Western supporters, not all of them unwitting dupes.

Now that the Ukrainian Front has entered the picture, with Moscow’s imprimatur, expect the situation in Ukraine to only get worse. It would be difficult to overstate the danger Ukraine and Europe are in at the moment thanks to intimidation, meddling and provocation by Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin. European governments would be well advised to not permit naked Russian interference of a violent and coercive sort in Ukrainian politics: this cannot end well.

And now we have rallies in Sevastopol, where the Russian Black Fleet is anchored, in favor of reuniting with Russia (jump to update 1410).

[smokingfrog]

“ACORN” voters, dead voters, ballot box stuffing, etc. ?

[cunning_fish]

>>>It seems to be the case that no matter who they elect, nobody can bring prosperity to both portions of Ukraine, and tackle the systemic low-level corruption that keeps small rural communities poor.<<<

In fact both versions are extremely corrupt. Recently released ‘Gas princess’ Timoshenko’s boyfriend went from running a VHS movie rental to one of the richest people in Ukraine as she was in office.

[DesertRhino]

Yulia Tymoshenko is as corrupt as anyone there. Became a multigas billionaire in the 90s. There’s only one way that happened then. She did it controlling gas pipelines into Europe.
Shes a tool in the Eurobankers pocket. It’s not that surprising that Euro courts would find on her behalf.

[kabar]

Billionarie? In what currency?

[A Formerly Proud Canadian]

Putin won’t do anything until after the Olympics. Unfortunately, they are over tomorrow. No suprise if Russian tanks start moving into the Ukraine on Monday to provide ‘peace and security’ to the region.

[cunning_fish]

>>Putin won’t do anything until after the Olympics. Unfortunately, they are over tomorrow. No suprise if Russian tanks start moving into the Ukraine on Monday to provide ‘peace and security’ to the region.<<

I think Ukraine has a second most ethic-Russian infested military in the world, after Russia (I bet you will be very surprised to learn which is the third).
I don’t think Russia actually need to use it’s own forces.

[devolve]

- “I am drawing a yellow line in the snow…..” - B Hussein Obama II

[ResisTyr]

And you believe them moviing closer to the West is a good thing?? Look who’s leading the US & UK. Would you in your right mind wanna be controlled by them?

[ResisTyr]

Maybe, for non-Slavs...

[kabar]

And you believe them moviing closer to the West is a good thing??

Absolutely. I support any country moving closer to the West, which is the superior civilization when it comes to freedom and the rights of the individual and away from communism and totalitarianism.

I lived two years in communist Poland and saw firsthand how oppressive and corrupt a despotic regime can be. I returned to Poland after 15 years of freedom and saw the difference of what a free society can do for the nation and the individual.

Look who’s leading the US & UK. Would you in your right mind wanna be controlled by them?

Look at the former KGB agent Putin's Russia. Who in their right mind would choose living there compared to the UK or the US?

[ResisTyr]

And we don’t bully other countries, using force if necessary, to protect or advance our financial interests?

[Wuli]

in your first image, the linguistic map

the nearly completely brown colored penninsula

jutting into the Black Sea is Crimea

If Ukraine starts to break up

I am guessing Putin will move to annex it, as a warning
to the “westerners” in Ukraine that what they lose, or become detached from might be made permanent.

[demshateGod]

Yep. It'll be just like Georgia. Russia will create some separatist group to create problems for awhile time, when Ukraine gets fed up and acts, Russia will roll the tanks across to save the day.

[demshateGod]

They can. Why don’t they? I think it’s because they don’t get that a coupe happened.

[wildandcrazyrussian]

Without getting into the merits of other arguments on this thread, I want to mention that the people in the colored ethnic map in the Carpathian region (extreme westernmost area) have for centuries not had anything to do with what they think of as Ukrainian separatism, but instead always identified with "Rus" as a general heritage of all in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, etc. and specifically the Russian state as possible salvation from Austro-Hungarian control. The most common historical name is Carpatho-Russian (-russkij) as the adjective, and Rusin (not Rusyn) as the noun form, with another local variant of self-identification being Rusnak.

They voted in 1991 by 80% to have as much autonomy from the central Ukrainian government as is possible if independence isn't achievable(and would have preferred a return to the Czechoslovakia from which Stalin stole the territory in 1945). I personally know this area and just visited recently.

Given a choice between Russian language and Ukrainian language they much prefer Russian, but that has been officially suppressed since 1945 by the central government in Kiev. There is much propaganda that will deny the truth of this, but self-determination should be a two-way street.

[kabar]

Thanks for your perspective. It is interesting to note that despite the passage of hundreds of years, there are tribal roots that endure. It makes you wonder about the wisdom of multiculturalism and diversity. America is not immune from those same tribal feelings.

[dfwgator]

Yep, and Stalin stole Lwow from Poland, as well.