Regime change is easy. What happens now?

Vladimir Putin can indulge in some quiet satisfaction that the winter Olympic games at Sochi have been a success that he said they would be. Russia topped the medals' table with 13 gold even though the loss to Finland in Ice Hockey hurt deeply. Islamist threats of attacks turned out be pure bluster and they were left praying for an earthquake. The infrastructure functioned efficiently although boorish Americans focused on how a US athlete had to break open a bathroom door which had jammed. If a foreigner had done the same in the US he would have been frogmarched in handcuffs by US police, would have been cavity searched and then made to pay a hefty bill for repairs. With all foreigners safely home by now Putin can turn his attention to Ukraine where protesters trained and financed by US and Europe have made President Viktor Yanukovych flee the capital, Kiev for an unknown refuge in the east of the country. The trouble started in November when Yanukovych refused to sign a trade deal with the EU in favor of Russia. Ukraine is in danger of defaulting on debts worth $13 billion which the EU was not willing to forgive. Russia offered a package worth $15 billion and can supply Ukraine with cheap gas. Yanukovych, who favors Russia, grabbed the deal. When the protests started he handled it badly. He should have shown xenophobic articles in British newspapers about migrants from Bulgaria and Romania, sent journalists to Greece to show the effects of austerity imposed by the EU and to Serbia to show how the western powers conspired to divide Yugoslavia into little bits. Instead, like all politicians, he chose confrontation. In 2004-05 he faced the Orange revolution with the election of Viktor Yushchenko as President and Yulia Tymoshenko as Prime Minister. Later the two fell out and Yushchenko testified at Tymoshenko's trial for a gas deal she signed with the Russians. Is the west ready to put cash on the table this time round? Already the US is back-pedalling. " The United States, together with Europe and others in the international community are ready to supplement an IMF program to cushion the impact of reforms on low-income Ukrainians," said Treasury Secretary, Jacob Lew. Sounds ominous, does it not? Ukrainians have to ask themselves," Will the opposition be better second time round and do they want to be like Greece?" Not easy.