[tomm]

New York Times

Many Ukrainians, who saw demonstrators in the capital chase President Viktor F. Yanukovych from office last month in what some in this country regard as a justified uprising and others call a coup, wondered what part of Ukraine might remain, day by day, under the interim government’s control.

These demonstrators made clear what they favored: Russia, and a return to Russian orbit.

And while Western officials have accused Russia of filling rallies in eastern Ukraine with Russian citizens, this rally appeared to consist overwhelmingly of local people.

It began with perhaps 1,000 demonstrators gathered around reliable symbols snubbing the West: hammer-and-sickle banners, signs decrying NATO, and elderly men, in uniform, reminding the crowd of the terrible suffering, and ultimate victory, of Soviet soldiers and citizens who helped defeat Nazi Germany in World War II.


One huge banner at the base of the Lenin statue read, “Our homeland: USSR!”

The message was explicit and part of the common pro-Kremlin sentiment surrounding Ukraine. Ukraine’s interim government is “fascist,” and extraordinary measures are needed to counter it.

“It is the working people of Kharkiv who are here,” Ilya K. Kiyuk said. “They have come to join Russia, because we cannot hold back the fascists any longer.”

As the minutes passed and more people arrived, the rally seemed to more than double in size, and the scene shifted. Russian flags appeared among the Communist Party banners, and more young men clustered in groups.

Soon, the elderly residents were mostly left on the square, as the younger and more agile crowd pushed over a fence at the square and filled the street in front of the police formation on the government building’s steps.

A massive Russian banner was stretched across the front of the police ranks. With television cameras rolling, the crowd began a series of chants.

“Crimea, we’re with you!” was one.

“Putin! Putin! Putin!” was another.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/18/wo...pgtype=article