EuroMaidan Revolution
Lucan Way: Six reasons to be cautious about chances of opposition success
The level of spontaneous self organization in Kiev is truly remarkable. The protesters have been far less violent than some other protests in the world, including the G20 protests in Toronto in 2010. Simultaneously, the current Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych is weak. His support has plummeted such that just about any opposition candidate is now predicted to beat him in a hypothetical presidential election. His support from Ukraine’s oligarchs is also soft, as evidenced by the relatively balanced coverage on TV channels. During the Orange Revolution, in 2004, only one channel was presenting protests in a positive light. Now it is many channels, suggesting that the oligarchs are reluctant to put all their chits behind Yanukovych.