Ukraine: Yanukovych Invites Violence. The only question now is: Is sporadic violence enough for the regime?

Ukraine's Orange Blues

by Alexander J. Motyl

It was all quite predictable. How could the gangster regime of an avaricious sultan not provoke an uprising by a population tired of being systematically and relentlessly plundered and abused? You don’t have to be an expert on revolutions and rebellions to know that, at some point, all decent people will say to their oppressors: enough is enough.

The only question now is: Is sporadic violence enough for the regime? 

Disappearances, beatings, and even killings have become more common. 

Will the regime now go into full occupation mode and employ mass violence against the protestors in Kyiv and elsewhere?

Hired thugs and riot police (in case you’re wondering what the difference between the two is, the latter wear helmets) are being bused into Kyiv. 

The troops confronting the protesters appear to have developed increasingly itchy fingers, firing rubber bullets and explosive devices into the crowds. 

Push appears to be coming to shove.

The risks associated with a violent crackdown are extremely high, and the sultan knows that. 

After all, if there’s one thing Viktor Yanukovych understands, it’s violence. 

• He grew up in a violent environment; 
• he employed violence as a teenage gangster;
• he was both the object and subject of violence in prison; 
• he uses well-placed punches to keep his minions in line. 

Indeed, considering his abysmal record as president of Ukraine—which essentially ended when he willfully, consciously, and voluntarily abandoned that position by betraying the people’s trust and opting for occupation—violence may be the only thing the man understands.

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