Always watch the monuments

There is a huge potential in Ukraine for liberty to grow, but there is also huge potential for a standard-issue European blood bath.

I'm not getting the blood bath vibe, but Russians are exceptionally hard to read, even for professional Russian watchers.

Public protests thundered into a full-throttle civil uprising in Ukraine on Sunday, as hundreds of thousands of protesters answered President Viktor F. Yanukovich’s dismissiveness with their biggest rally so far, demanding that he and his government resign.
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At the height of the unrest on Sunday night, a seething crowd toppled and smashed a statue of Lenin, the most prominent monument to the Communist leader in Kiev.

This is all good as the natural desire of man for freedom tries again to assert itself.

I'm optimistic but cautious. Until we see more cards pulled, we should just enjoy the moment.



... and yes, I was surprised that it was 2013 and they still had a statue of that butcher in Kiev.