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You've puzzled me with some of the other questions. I'm particularly confused by the concepts of a single currency, the unification of ministries and consulates, and the role of borders and customs. I'll have to study the manual on the Customs Union... but for now, that's all.

Well, I've outlined this in general terms, not specifically in relation to the Customs Union, which I don't know how it will be structured. The main point is that there are advantages, and the disadvantages are not very obvious.

But there was still hope: if not now, then when? I still hope that those who took to Maidan will organize and give a fitting response to this lawlessness. Otherwise, we will sink into chaos for an indefinite period.

In diplomacy, well-formulated demands are half the battle.

For example, if Maidan had been held under one single slogan, "Azaarov must resign," Yanukovych would have scratched his head after a day or two - "To hell with Azaarov" - and signed a decree on his resignation. But as long as Maidan is held under the slogans "we want to join the EU" or "we will put an end to lawlessness," the attitude towards it will be accordingly negative.

But Maidan is one thing; I understand that expecting coherence of desires from a crowd is naive. That's what political parties are for - to shape the desires of the masses into some kind of idea, ideology, goal, and program of action, and to declare it publicly. And the ideology of the Ukrainian opposition (and the Russian one as well) mainly consists of trying to sabotage the ruling party.

For comparison, the Bolsheviks had a complete set of ideological tools - from populist theses like "land to the peasants, factories to the workers" to serious scientific works by Marx and his followers. This is partly why they were able to seize power, maintain it, and rebuild the country afterwards - having a goal and a compass motivates both the masses and the elite.