Will Maidan live on?

ANATOLIY HRYTSENKO, a leading member of the Ukrainian opposition party Batkivshchyna, was expelled from a party meeting for “participating in an information war against his own fraction” on January 13th. His crime? Mr Hrytsenko (pictured) had noted in a blog that there seemed to be fewer protesters camped out on Kiev’s Independence Square, commonly known as Maidan, than there had been in previous weeks.

Commentators were quick to note that for a party ostensibly committed to European values of democracy, plurality and transparency, the action against Mr Hrytsenko was oddly reminiscent of Soviet practices. It prompted the MP to quit his party, in one of the first public squabbles within the opposition since protests began on November 21^st.

The pro-European, anti-government movement has been losing intensity (at least in terms of the numbers showing up to...Continue reading