Things in the Ukraine are not shaping up the way Russian President Vladimir Putin would like them to be. [Ras]Putin wanted current Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych to continue running the Ukraine as a Russian (Soviet?) satellite, as it was under former President Leonid Kuchma. Initially, Yanukovych “won” the election, but observers claimed there were many irregularities, opposition protests nearly shut down Kiev, parliament dismissed Yanukovych’s government, and the Supreme Court ruled that Yanukovych’s victory was “fraudulent.” Anatoly Yarema, the Supreme Court’s chief justice said, “The court decision is final and cannot be appealed against.”

Last week, Kuchma ran off to Moscow to talk about the situation with Putin. I would think that many Ukrainians are wondering why he did so. Do they need Russian approval for who becomes their next leader? Kuchma’s intentions are more self-serving. According to the BBC,

He [Kuchma] arrived on the political scene as a "red director" - the boss of a Soviet rocket factory - and ultimately became a master powerbroker among Ukrainian oligarchs.

His chief of staff and his son-in-law are two of the country's most powerful men - politically and economically - while the candidate they jointly put forward for the presidency, Viktor Yanukovych, was a representative of the country's other top clan.

With Mr Yanukovych installed as president, Mr Kuchma could have gone into retirement with a guarantee of immunity from prosecution, and with his family's business interests secure.

Sacrifice your nation’s evolution to protect your own interests? Kuchma wants Yanukovych to protect his interests, nothing more. That is why he wants opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko out. From Time Magazine,

Yanukovich, 54, has made no secret of his pro-Moscow leanings. And Ukraine's business and political élite have flourished in one of the world's most corrupt economies; they trust that he won't rock the boat. If Yanukovych seems a throwback to the Soviet era, Yushchenko, 50, wants to bring Ukraine into the free-market age. In opposition, he turned Our Ukraine into a powerful antigovernment bloc that's threatening to undo the currently ruling clans' lock on power.

Now Russian President Putin is talking “foreign interference:”

Only the people of any country - and this includes Ukraine - can decide their fate.

One can play the role of mediator but one must not meddle and apply pressure.

Huh? According to Time Magazine:

During the campaign, Russian President Vladimir Putin did not hide his sympathies: he visited Ukraine twice to broadcast his support for Yanukovych. Political consultants and media specialists close to the Kremlin played a major role in shaping both the strategy and the message of the Yanukovych campaign, and according to specialists like the Carnegie Endowment's Anders Aslund, Russia pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into his election bid. On Monday, Putin was the first world leader to congratulate the Prime Minister on his victory, a full two days before the Electoral Commission declared him President-elect. Sources well briefed on Kremlin affairs tell TIME that as protests in Kiev gathered momentum, Putin urged the much-discredited outgoing President Leonid Kuchma, eager to secure a safe retirement amid charges of corruption and political violence, to declare Yanukovych the winner. The sources say Putin made it clear that Moscow would not accept a Yushchenko victory.

Putin + Kuchma + Yanukovych = Soviet oligarchy.

I’ll place my bets on Ukraine’s opposition and hope for the best. Here's a tickler for ya: