David Kramer: Ukraine’s future imperiled under Yanukovych
Protesters raise their fist and shout slogans during a rally in front of Ukrainian Parliament on December 3, 2013. The Ukrainian government survived a no-confidence vote after the prime minister apologised for a brutal police crackdown on protests that were sparked by the ex-Soviet state's rejection of a historic EU pact. Following pressure from the opposition, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov arrived at an emergency parliament session and personally apologised for a crackdown in a bid to defuse the ex-Soviet nation's worst political crisis in a decade. AFP PHOTO/GENYA SAVILOV
During the Orange Revolution nine years ago, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians took to the streets, outraged by a rigged election that would have elevated then-Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych to the presidency. Their efforts forced a rerun of that election and led to his defeat. Yanukovych, however, made a political comeback and narrowly won the presidency in 2010.
