Why is the Ukraine in Turmoil?

The People

• Two-thirds of Ukraine’s citizens are ethnic Ukrainians whose first language is Ukrainian.

• One-sixth is ethnic Ukrainians who speak Russian.

• Another one-sixth is ethnic Russians, who live primarily in the east and south near the Russian border.

Conflict

• This division of ethnic differences creates a a division among the people of Ukraine.

Joseph Stalin

1. The leader of the Soviet Union from the mid-1920s until his death in 1953

2. Sent soldiers in to take over the agriculture of the Ukrainian people.

3. Created a famine to starve the people.

Russia’s President Putin

• 1. Ukrainian’s want a separation from Russia.

• 2. Ukrainians eager to break from their past.

• 3. Resent Putin’s involvement in the Ukraine.

• 4. Putin wants the Ukraine to lean toward Russia instead of western Europe and the EU.

Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych

• On Nov. 21, 2013, President Viktor made a last minute decision to abandon a crucial trade deal with Europe and the EU in favor of closer economic ties with Russia.

Protest in the Ukraine

• Wednesday, December 4, 2013 • The protests began last week and swelled into

the weekend, triggered by the Ukrainian president’s sudden refusal to sign an association agreement with the European Union.  Many in the country prefer such mixing with the EU over closer ties to Russia.  The protests have since grown into broader anti-government sentiment.

The Turmoil Begins

• Angry protesters, already suspicious of Viktor’s ties with Putin, flooded the center of Kiev in Ukraine.

• Within three days, protests were at extremely high levels.

• Putin provides Viktor and his government with emergency financing.

Ukraine’s Parliament

• On Saturday, Members of the Parliament of Ukraine – which has been witnessing mass protests since last November – voted to remove President Viktor Yanukovych, and an arrest warrant has reportedly been issued for his arrest. The move comes after more than 100 people were killed last week in the latest wave of deadly clashes in the capital, Kiev.

Ukraine Parliament oust President Viktor

• http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/02/24/ukraine-yanukovych-arrest-warrant/5772717/

• Russia threatens Ukraine as ousted president missing

• KIEV, Ukraine — Russian leaders expressed their distrust and dislike of the new government of Ukraine on Monday, saying it came to power through “armed mutiny,” just hours after the authorities here announced a nationwide manhunt for ousted president Viktor Yanukovych on charges of “mass murder of peaceful civilians.”

• The sudden collapse of the Kremlin-backed government in Ukraine has for now delivered a profound setback to Russia’s President Vladimir V. Putin’s strategy to deepen political and economic ties with the country and thus keep it from embracing Europe.

Russia’s allies in the Ukraine

• Russia still has enormous leverage and close allies in Ukraine, particularly in the east and on the Crimea Peninsula, home of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet and a sizable ethnic Russian population.

What do you think?

• Topics:

• 1. Orange Revolution in the Ukraine 2004

• 2. Stalin’s treatment of the Ukrainian people

• 3. Putin’s obsession with the Ukraine.

• 4. Different ethnic groups in the Ukraine.

Why Conflict??

• http://live.wsj.com/video/ukraine-turmoil-explained/E8FCD25B-D52C-444C-8709-B13116B663FD.html#!E8FCD25B-D52C-444C-8709-B13116B663FD