Russia's Botched Policy in its Own Backyard from the Financial Times [of London]

"The Kremlin’s misunderstanding of Ukrainian politics is based on the fact that, unlike Russia, Ukraine is a democracy. The Russian leaders think they can “buy” Ukrainian politicians, but in the end they must listen to their voters, not Moscow, to gain office. This is an alien thought to the authoritarian Muscovites, who believe everything is manipulated from above and by Washington."

A complimentary piece The Medvedev Show also appeared in yesterday's Moscow Times.