Ukraineans with means did it

Bled the country for their own benefit, says Nauro F. Campos, which is what is behind the civil unrest in Kiev. The evil that socialist man did lives after;

• The cause of these protests is in the extremely poor institutions that have taken root in Ukraine after the collapse of communism.

Similar to what happened thanks to Juan Peron;

Like Argentina ...Ukraine has enormous economic potential: decent infrastructure, an educated workforce, a diversified industrial structure, and abundant natural resources (not only hydrocarbons and minerals, but also productive agricultural land.) Yet, inclusive institutions have difficulty emerging not only because of substantial regional and linguistic differences...but also because of the entrenchment of powerful new economic elites that contributed to the lingering of the Soviet legacy. The press recently reported with excitement that during EuroMaidan [protests in Kiev] a statue of Lenin was toppled in downtown Kiev, and Soviet stars were taken out from the city hall’s façade. Astonishment failed to register as to how and why such symbols are still on display two decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

(Bold by HSIB.)

Campos links to this blog post by Anders Aslund;

Ukraine’s well-known problems of corruption lie behind Ukraine’s last-minute demand for payment in return for association with the European Union. ....[I.e.] President Viktor Yanukovych’s absurd demand of €160 billion from the European Union in grants until 2017....

The Ukrainian government’s budget deficit of 6 percent of GDP or $11 billion is driven by what is commonly called the “Yanukovych family” siphoning big money from the state budget.

Which is accomplished in three ways;

1. Billions of dollars are extracted each year out of the State Tax Administration and the State Customs Committee. Some appears to be sheer embezzlement, some is in the form of bribes passed on to the top, and some comes from commissions demanded from value-added tax refunds for exporters. ....

2. Competitive bidding of large infrastructure projects, notably connected with the Euro 2012 Soccer Cup, has ceased. The government overpays for these projects by paying twice as much as it should. ....

3. The state oil and gas company Naftogaz buys 18 billion cubic meters of domestically produced natural gas each year at the ridiculously low price of $53 per 1000 cubic meters. ....permitting someone to make a fortune from reselling the gas to industrial customers for a price related to the Russian gas price of $410 per 1000 cubic meter.

Which appears to be the reason Vladmir Putin is offering to subsidize Ukraine, to keep it from going all EU on him. The Yanukovych Crime Family is going to sell Ukraine to the highest bidder, unless the people can stop it.