Uncertain World: Endgame in Ukraine

[Muzh]

An excellent analysis of what is happening in UA.
 

But the logic of Ukrainian politics has added several new elements to this picture. Yanukovych decided to go for broke, disregarding taboos of Ukrainian and post-Soviet politics.
 
The Ukrainian taboos are rooted in the country’s political culture, according to which confrontation should never reach its logical conclusion, with the sides retreating to their initial positions in order to start bargaining. But this was not the case with Tymoshenko.
 
According to unspoken post-Soviet taboos, no political leaders have been tried or, worse still, imprisoned, although some have been toppled and forced into an exile. (Tymoshenko’s mentor, former Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko, was imprisoned, but in the United States.) Tymoshenko’s trial has created a precedent that does not please post-Soviet leaders one bit.
 
By going for broke, Yanukovych has blocked his own escape route. He must either convince the nation that the rules of the game have changed, and they are dictated by the current authorities, or push back against the powerful internal resistance, which, combined with external factors, could lead to destructive results.
 

http://en.ria.ru/columnists/20111020/167899211.html