Lazarevka. Two nights in the countryside. Traditional forms of protest in eastern Ukraine: miners refusing to come up to the surface, or banging on their helmets in front of the mines management and the local authorities. Then they march on Kiev, banging their helmets on the steps of Parliament and the Cabinet building. The government only knows what Ukraine is from an eastern perspective. And that is why it doesn’t know how to combat the Maidan. Even Hanna Herman, the Galician deputy, despite being a defector from the western part of the country, cannot help Yanukovych understand because she has never been a representative of the western Ukrainian or pro-Ukrainian political mentality. The current government has no advisers, hence this stalemate.
The government is used to seeing in western Ukrainian protest movements a sort of theatrical-religious show without any political consequences for Kiev. Until now, it has not really had to worry about protests except for those in its own territory, as lifestyle determines style of protest. In other words, demonstrations in the east can be much more violent and chaotic than those in the west. Given the apolitical nature of eastern Ukrainian society, the demands of local movements can only be material or, in rare cases, related to the shameless behaviour of representatives of the legal system or other state powers.
After the online publication of photographs showing Berkut agents throwing Molotov cocktails at protesters, the Ministry of Internal Affairs made an official declaration that Molotov cocktails no longer constituted part of the police’s weaponry, and that those responsible would be held accountable.