Ukraine: The key groups and people (the best summary I have seen.As accurate as I have read.***)
*** Of all the summaries, this is as complete and accurate as I have read. I am sure there are discrepancies. We may never know all the players involved and how)
Who’s who: These are the key figures and groups in Ukraine’s political crisis
We've seen the apocalyptic images of anti-government demonstrations in Kyiv. In the last week, the death toll spiked, rising to at least 77 dead after violent clashes broke out between protesters and police. Independence Square, known as Maidan, resembles a medieval battleground with encampments, barricades, raging fires and hundreds to thousands of armed and armor-clad fighters.
The end of the week, however, has brought with it a tentative respite in the form of a political deal. Ukraine’s president agreed to call early elections. And the country’s parliament, dominated by the president’s own party, voted to roll back presidential powers.
It all began three months ago when Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych reversed course last minute and abandoned a far-reaching trade agreement with the EU. Instead, he chose to pursue a closer economic partnership with Russia. Protests only gathered in force and number after police raided a peaceful demonstration of mostly sleeping students on Nov. 30.
It’s tempting to reduce the situation to a geopolitical tug-of-war between pro-Russian and pro-European factions. The reality is more nuanced but also more basic. Ukrainian journalists explain what the ongoing demonstration — known as Euromaidan — means to them:
We want to live in an honest and fair country, where individual rights are respected, where you can freely express your views and not be afraid of the police, where courts are just and cannot be bought, where there is real competition in business and opportunity to earn [money] in an honest way.
That’s why we want a full reset of the system of government…. We want to live in a country where the government knows that human dignity is supreme.
The civil unrest has brought together groups across Ukraine’s political spectrum — united in government opposition but not necessarily sharing the same objectives. The protests have also drawn the notice of the international community. And it's all a long way from being sorted.
Here are the key players to watch as Ukraine attempts to put the pieces back together.
The key players and groups:
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/politics/140221/ukraine-kyiv-kiev-key-people-figures-groups-political-crisis
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