12 Comments
Gerhardt Troan
3/4/2014 08:46:42 am
It is difficult to determine who is to blame for the Ukraine crisis. One could say that it is the Russians during Catherine the Great's rule. If they had not conquered Ukraine, the conflict would likely never have started. The modern crisis, however, could quite possibly have been caused by Viktor Yanukovych switching loyalties from the European Union to Russia and fleeing his country. It hard to place, as Ukraine is forced to choose between former conquerors who make up a large portion of their population, or potential faraway and even overseas allies. I can't pinpoint an exact cause for the crisis, besides rising tensions in general between Russia and Ukraine finally coming to a boiling point.
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Liam O'Regan
3/5/2014 05:47:05 am
Basically the president of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych was making negotiations with the EU to integrate with them. Then when Russian president Vladmir Putin started negotiating with Yanukovych to maybe tempt him into a union with Russia the citizens of Ukraine began to revolt, for obvious reasons. This, in turn mobilized the Ukrainian police force to combat this threat leaving Ukraine open to hostile takeover from Russia, possibly making the protests counter-productive. To point a finger of blame in this situation is rather unfitting, as you could blame Russia for tempting Ukraine, or Yanukovych for considering it. Maybe even the citizens for rioting, but then again, what else are they supposed to do? In summary it is quite difficult to blame one person, it is probably an amalgamation of them all creating this situation of tension.
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Matthew A
3/7/2014 03:42:43 am
The Protests the took place in Independence Square in Kiev, Ukraine, were due to Prime minister Viktor Yanukovych switching allegiance from the European Union to Russia. Yanukovych made this decision after Putin said that he would raise natural gas prices if Ukraine joined the EU and lower them if Ukraine partnered with Russia. Many, many protesters were angry that Yanukovych made this deal with Putin, so they gathered in independence square to protest his decision. The crisis could be blamed on Yanukovych due to his switching loyalties from EU to Russia. However, Russia is also at fault raising natural gas prices if Ukraine joined the EU, and also possibly making military related threats to Ukraine. Another reason for the crisis is Ukraine’s divided population the with the west being Ukrainian speaking, the east being Russian speaking and Crimea being mostly ethnic Russians. So there really isn’t any one person to blame for the crisis in Ukraine.
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Emily L
3/7/2014 11:22:23 am
In my opinion I would have to say that Viktor Yanukovych should be held responsible for this crisis in Ukraine. As he has made many huge mistakes that in the end resulted in all of this chaos. Some of his big mistakes include: signing a deal with Russia, which he acquired very ephemeral concessions regarding the gas price in exchange for a massive extension of the lease that was placed on the black sea fleet. Yanukovych is also being criticized for letting Russia control the Crimea. He then changed the constitution and arrogated to himself very large powers. Viktor was also known for being a "super president" which was very alarming for people with democratic inclinations. This also happened to be a bad act on his part as he then had become accountable for the entire country. He clearly has little experience but some how managed to make it to the top for some time. Although this did result very drastically with a series of huge mistakes politically, socially, cultuarally which proceeded to alienate a very big portion of the Ukrainian population.
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James C
3/8/2014 03:49:12 am
the president viktor yanukovych is to blame for the crisis in Ukraine because he was more concern for the trade with russia than his country finances. He reject europe union agreement and he was overthrown by the people. Russia was bringing force to the Crimean region to expand it’s language and culture. some people believe it was america but it was really president viktor kick of from the president and hes was replaced but he is trying to make look like the americans did not him.since he rejected the agreement there was a conflict with russia and ukraine there were crowds and mobs in ukraine every on was mad with russia and president viktor yanukovych
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Joel B. Engel
3/9/2014 06:37:08 am
By Joel B. Engel
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Christian N.
3/9/2014 08:44:48 am
The Crisis in the Ukraine has been caused by tensions between the Ukraine, it's self and Russia.
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Emily Y
3/9/2014 12:41:46 pm
I think that the crisis in the Ukraine can be blamed equally on the president Viktor Yanukovych and the president Vladimir Putin. if Yanukovych would of asked the citizens, or did a poll of what the people of the Ukraine want in the terms of going with the EU or going with Russia, the people would have felt they had a choice. One person cant make the sole decision for the whole country without taking their input into consideration. Putin is also to blame for pressuring Yanukovych to sign with Russia.
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Hanna E.
3/9/2014 01:08:54 pm
In the most simplified version we could say Russia is at fault. They are the ones invading another country. They are the ones that threatened to increase natural gas prices and possibly military action if President Viktor Yanukovych didn't switch alliances from the EU to Russia. They're were many omissions that led to this critical point. The Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych turned his back on a trade deal with the EU and accepted a 15 billion dollar bail out. Citizens of the Ukraine protested this deal with Moscow and forcing Yanukovych to flee the country. Moscow has refused to accept the new Ukrainian authority and wants the original deal to be enforced. Now adding more to the confusion Crimea, which has an ethnic Russian majority, has been given the opportunity by the Crimean parliament to have a referendum to secede from the Ukraine and join Russia. Many people feel like Crimea will vote to join Russia. It is most likely they are encouraging Russia to maintain their position. It is difficult to pinpoint who is entirely at fault but we do know because of the world economy we are all going to be affected.
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Emily Leesing
3/9/2014 04:12:52 pm
The simple answer for who is to blame for the ongoing crisis in the Ukraine would be Viktor Yanukovych. But really the answer is not that simple. Yanukovych lobbied for financial aid from both Russia and the EU. When he picked Russia, he went against what most Ukrainians wanted and thousands of protesters took to the streets. After days of armed violence, Yanukovych was replaced by the opposition parties. Tensions then rose between pro-EU and pro-Russians and a few days later Russia seized control of the Crimean Peninsula. Currently, the Ukraine is trying to find diplomatic solution. The European Union is blaming Russia for violating Ukrainian rights. The Russians do not recognize the current government of the Ukraine and is in the Crimean Peninsula only because President Yanukovych has “asked” them to send troops to maintain law and order in the region.
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Vanessa W
3/9/2014 04:57:25 pm
Not one single person can be blamed for what has been going on in the Ukraine. The Ukraine has basically been caught in a tug-of-war between Europe and Russia and their problem stems from a variety of events. The Crimean war is one of these events. In this war Britain, France, and the Ottoman Empire teamed up against and defeated Russia. It was partially a religious thing between the Catholics and the Orthodox, but it was mostly Europe afraid that Russia was getting too big and powerful. There were many wars after this one; WWI, WWII, Civil War. The two sides constantly battling for the Ukraine. The country has seen some small pockets of peace, but they were all very short lived. About sixty percent of the Ukraine's population speaks Ukrainian, and about thirty percent speak Russian. The Ukraine is both European and Russian, and I think the Ukraine should be left alone to develop and be their own country instead of everyone trying to control it for themselves.
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