Ukraine slipping away

Stanislav Krasnov marched with the hundreds of thousands demanding a pro-Western government during Ukraine's 2004 Orange Revolution.

That government's final days seem near now. A preliminary count of Ukraine's weekend presidential vote shows Russian-leaning candidate Viktor Yanukovych narrowly beating Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, the blond-braided heroine of the Orange Revolution.

. . . As Yanukovych consolidates power, the era of revolutions in Ukraine appears to be over for now. The once-flamboyant Tymoshenko has kept herself under wraps, apparently deciding on her next move.

. . . With Orange rule all but over, some Ukrainians fear Yanukovych's rule could mean a shift to a Russian-style system with tighter control of the political opposition and media, along with deepening energy reliance on Moscow.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2011028840_apeuukrainepresidentialelection.html

This is what happens when the U.S. gives no support to pro western groups (whether in Ukraine or Cuba or Iran), because the administration is too busy "extending the hand of friendship" to authoritarian America-haters (whether Chavez or Castro or assorted radical mullahs and imams).