Ukraine: Reasons for the war

A first explanation of the reasons for the protest is the division of the country between Russian sympathies and not between east and ovest.Tra the Russian-speaking majority and economically linked to Moscow and the Western regini attracted by European perspectives. The current president Yanukovych is the leader of the Party of Regions, the pro-Russian, who has blocked it on 15 December, the long negotiations for a free trade agreement with the European Union and has rather narrow one with Russia. The opponents took to the streets argue the need for closer ties with Europe. The agreements signed with Russia last December 17 envisages a cut in the price of gas to Ukraine and the acquisition by the Moscow government bonds for € 11 billion Ukrainians. Putin's move was intended to put a spoke in the wheels of the former satellite country rapprochement in Brussels. The whole was then surrounded by the threat of loss of preferential trade relations with Russia.

Population and economy - Nearly eighty percent of the population is Ukrainian, but in some cities in the east and south, the Russians are the majority (around Russians are 17 percent of the population). The economic situation in the last two decades has led to a reduction of 6 million inhabitants, partly because of the low birth rate, high mortality and emigration. The economic situation is dire, so that Ukraine would risk default in cvaso freezing of financial aid from Moscow. This was stated clearly in a note of February 21, the ratings agency Standard & Poor's, which downgraded the country's sovereign debt to 'CCC' from 'CCC +' with a negative outlook.

Politics - Ukraine is a semi-presidential republic: the President of the Republic is the head of state and is elected directly for a term of five years. The parliament has a single room, the Verkhovna Rada.

Independence - Ukraine became independent after the end of the Soviet Union in 1991. Nearly the whole nation, belonging to the Crimea, was firmly convinced that the country had a national identity and should be a sovereign state. But from then on the other hand, Ukraine has remained more or less equally divided between two different ideas about their future: pro-Russian and pro-European.

The last government and the Orange Revolution - After a disastrous first presidency from the point of view of economic Leonid Kravchuk, the Soviet Leonid Kuchma did raise the economic situation making Ukraine the first richest country in the former Soviet Union. The whole world is aware of the divisions at the time of the so-called "Orange Revolution", after which, in December 2004, the pro-Western and pro-European Viktor Yushchenko won the election. With Yushchenko democracy in the country grew, as well as the freedom of the media, finally free to talk to the revolution. But the rift made the negotiations with the European Union and NATO difficult. The Government of the Orange lasted five years and was created serious difficulties in the international economic crisis and the rivalry between President Yushchenko and his prime minister Yuliya Tymoshenko, who was then exploited by Yanukovych to come to power.