Motyl: Dictatorship by referendum in Ukraine?

Ukraine’s democrats are worried that a law “On the All-Ukrainian Referendum,” signed by President Yanukovych on November 27, 2012, may serve to prolong Regionnaire rule by means of underhanded changes to the Constitution. The fear is not unfounded. After all, everyone knows that Yanukovych and the Regionnaires face certain defeat in the 2015 presidential elections. Crushing the opposition by means of selective arrests and violence only goes so far. Falsifying election results can work only within a relatively narrow margin of, say, 3 to 4 percentage points. Instituting a military dictatorship is out of the question in light of Ukraine’s crummy armed forces. Changing the Constitution in Parliament requires a two-thirds majority, which the Regionnaires don’t have and won’t have. So why not change the country’s basic law by means of a referendum, thereby enabling “the people”—whom the Regionnaires generally regard condescendingly—to forge their own chains?