I understand why Ukrainian people wanted change. They have had enough of the authorities in power during the years of Ukraine’s independence. Presidents, prime ministers and parliamentarians changed, but their attitude to the country and its people remained the same. They milked the country, fought among themselves for power, assets and cash flows and did not care much about the ordinary people. They did not wonder why it was that millions of Ukrainian citizens saw no prospects at home and went to other countries to work as day labourers. I would like to stress this: it was not some Silicon Valley they fled to, but to become day labourers. Last year alone almost 3 million people found such jobs in Russia. According to some sources, in 2013 their earnings in Russia totalled over $20 billion, which is about 12% of Ukraine’s GDP.
http://www.intifada-palestine.com/2014/03/president-putin-everything-limits-ukraine-western-partners-crossed-red-line/
顺便说一句，普京这次确实玩得很漂亮，天时地利人和占尽，大获全胜，准帝位进一步巩固。欧美输得非常彻底，非常难看。
这件事给西方国家的教训是：俄罗斯从来就不是今后也不会是纯西方国家，不会贡献出具普世价值的正面东西，能少出负面的东西就不错了。