Matthew Light, Maria Popova: The Kremlin, not language, is driving Ukraine apart
After losing Crimea to Russia in a swift invasion, Ukraine is facing new political turmoil in its majority Russian-speaking east. Last week, small crowds of pro-Russian activists stormed regional administration buildings in Luhansk, Donetsk, and Kharkiv. Russian-speaking protestors in Donetsk even briefly declared an independent state and asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to support them. Over the weekend, armed men took over government offices in several smaller towns in Donetsk region. Mr. Putin has admonished the Ukrainian government to respect the linguistic rights of the Russian-speaking minority, and has demanded that Ukraine adopt a federal system to protect those rights. Many people assume that we are witnessing the escalation of a deep-seeded ethnic separatist problem that is undermining Ukrainian unity. Why should Canada and others protect Ukraine if its own ethnic conflicts make it unviable as a state?