I have acquaintances who study or studied at the most prestigious university in the country, KNU named after Shevchenko, particularly in the law faculty. A third of the students are just brainless spoiled brats. Of the remaining two-thirds, there are enough smart guys, but they also got there only thanks to bribes or connections. And their brains are not used for honest work, but for how to get a better job and make more money later. And they seem like normal people, but they have simply become links in the system, not realizing that things can be different. Only a few got there on their own merits. And after university, to get a job, you still have to pay a bribe, no less. And this system extends to the very top.

Well, this is roughly the case everywhere where there is no strong external pressure on society - with the weakening of the objective criterion for the quality of work, subjective criteria become important - connections, personal sympathies, etc.

For example, in Europe and the United States, it is quite difficult to rise to the top purely on talent, perhaps only in some narrow areas where there is little money or high competition with foreigners.

For example, in the banking sector, everything has long been divided among financial clans; it is possible to organize your own large bank or get to a high position in existing ones only if you come from some family of financiers. All sorts of Rothschilds, Rockefellers, Morgans, and the like have occupied many good places and do not let outsiders in.

Even the hyped self-made guys like Gates, Bloomberg, or Zuckerberg are not really self-made; they were pushed to the top by relatives or powerful people for some personal purposes.

The optimal conditions for self-realization of people without money and connections are extreme pressures on society - chaos, war, revolution, or some external challenge, such as the space race. And also sports. Well, and the development of unoccupied niches, but there are almost none left now. That is, a situation where every few percent of efficiency is so important that it outweighs a person's personal qualities. In a normal course of life, they prefer to promote people who may be less intelligent but more loyal.

Therefore, I basically understand the motivation to create this chaos. The problem is that this chaos is created not by the people who will then be able to realize themselves in it, but by guys like Ikhtiandr, the fuel of the revolution.

Added 7 minutes ago

And Sergei Lavrov repeats in every interview like a mantra: "We will not interfere in the internal affairs of another state, and we do not advise other countries to do so."

You can say anything. In my opinion, it is clear with the naked eye that the scenario of Yanukovych's actions was not only agreed upon with the Kremlin but was most likely even written there.

It is very similar to Putin's political style - to turn the enemy's strength against him, not to disperse the Maidan, but to wait until it exhausts itself or discredits itself in the eyes of the public. The same technique was used to calm the protests in 2011. I highly doubt that Yanukovych has the same restraint and ability to walk on a razor's edge when it seems that it is about to happen, just a little more, and the power will fall, but it does not fall, but only depletes the resources of the protest, highlights the organizational structure and supply channels of the opposition.

Added 7 minutes ago

Here is a good article on this topic http://ubop.net.ua/stati/s-kakogo-konca-razbivat-yaico.html?fb_action_ids=249306935250385&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%5B1395809837341202%5D&action_type_map=%5B

Yes, it is brilliantly written. The only flaw:

If Yanukovych wins, repressions and a dictatorship will begin, and the next wave will be so strong that it will not end with Kyiv. Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Dnepropetrovsk will burn, and then Crimea. Does everyone remember Yugoslavia? Do you want Russian speakers to start cutting Ukrainian speakers?

Nothing like that will happen. I'm telling you, Putin's style is evident even in the details, so it will most likely continue.

They might put a few leaders of the protest in jail (or they might not). They might put a few rioters in jail, but not for politics, but specifically for rioting, and most likely not at the Maidan itself, but somewhere near it. The "Berkut" might kill a few particularly distinguished people under the cover of darkness.