Why Ukraine is staying in Russia's orbit instead of turning West

Why Ukraine is staying in Russia's orbit instead of turning West

By Carol J. Williams November 27, 2013, 5:00 a.m.

The European Union economy is six times bigger than that of the post-Soviet Commonwealth of Independent States, and the average EU citizen earns more than three times as much as a  counterpart in the eastern alliance.
Despite predicted short-term difficulties competing with the likes of Germany and Britain, more than 60% of Ukrainians wanted to seal a trade and association agreement with the Western European bloc.
Even some Ukrainian oligarchs who scooped up lucrative state assets from the communist era were said to have favored a pivot toward Brussels for the rule of law and stability that EU association would have brought to an economy now vulnerable to official expropriation and corruption.
So, why, many Ukrainians and those watching from afar wonder, has President Viktor Yanukovich bucked the Eastern European trend toward Western alignment to remain in Moscow's domineering orbit? http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-ukraine-russia-europe-20131126,0,2620429.story#ixzz2lrUJMkjN