WHERE IS VIKTOR YANUKOVYCH? (February 24, 2014)
Thus I on Google for the third day in a row. So far, I learned about his two attempts to cross the Ukrainian border with Russia, once by car and the second time by plane, but without any success. According to this morning’s news, he is in the Crimea, where the Russian navy dominates much of the coast. There can be no doubt that he is doing his best to get in touch with Vladimir Putin. Now that the Winter Olympics in Sochi are over, the Russian president can dedicate himself fully to the crisis in Ukraine. Whence my interest in Yanukovych’s fate, though? Now that he is largely on his own, he reminds me of Muammar Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein before him. Will he end up in some pipe or underground shelter like his precursors? Will he be executed on the spot by the angry mob or will he stand a mock trial before his execution for so many dead during the uprising in Kiev? Deep down, I seem to be happy when powerful men are hunted down and clobbered to death. This is a foolish attitude, to be sure. Whatever happens to Yanukovych, his fate will not deter wannabe potentates in the future. They will only get tougher and tougher over time.