A child lights a candle on a makeshift memorial to anti-government protesters killed in the past weeks' clashes with riot police on Kiev's Independence Square on Feb. 23, 2014.(Photo: Louisa Gouliamaki, AFP/Getty Images)
Story Highlights
- In eastern regions, resident worry they'll be repressed by opposition strongholds in west
- Analysts say the country just needs time to calm down after three months of protesting
- Cleaning up corruption, electing new leaders at top of parliament's to-do list
KIEV, Ukraine — A day after a political earthquake in Ukraine, questions linger over the direction of the country even as it starts rebuilding its government.
On Sunday, lawmakers elected a temporary leader, fired officials loyal to the previous government, and began repealing a series of deeply unpopular laws while also creating new ones.
At the same time, many uncertainties remain: Where is ousted President Viktor Yanukovych? How do officials get back officials who have flown the coop (and any money they took with them)? And, most importantly, how do Ukrainians stay together?
In spite of the deep divisions between the Russian-speaking east and the western region of the country, many say unity is paramount now.
"We are united," said lawmaker Vyacheslav Kerilenko in parliament. "There can be no split."
STORY: Kiev calm as protesters turn focus to justice
Even so, it is unclear who is in control in the Russian-speaking east and south, Yanukovych's base and his Party of Region's heartland. And there's concern that some want to initiate a split of Ukraine, a nation of 46 million in which half the country looks toward the West and the other toward Russia.
Many expressed fear Sunday of such an outcome, as well as worry over repression by the western regions, the heartland of the opposition.
In Donetsk, a former stronghold of the ousted president in the east, old women begged protesters not to destroy a statue of Lenin in the city. "They said 'you have won but please don't speak badly of us'," said Denis Strashny, working in the advertising industry there.
In Odessa, a Russian speaking city on the Black Sea, some were dismayed at a new law passed by parliament Sunday that makes Ukrainian the sole language of the country, repealing an older law that also recognized Russian.
"They are afraid of what might come, that this is the beginning of an assault by Ukrainian speakers and that they will come and discriminate against Russian speakers," said Odessa native Yuri Kovalyov.
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In spite of the chaos and uncertainty, analysts say the country just needs time to calm down after three months of protesting that was capped last week by violence that left more than 80 dead.
"I think that the people who are talking about secession are a very small minority," said Vitaly Chernetsky, president of the American Association for Ukrainian Studies in Cambridge, Mass. "I think that there is a lot of diversity in Ukraine, the diversity is not greater than that of the United States. When you take two different viewpoints that seem to be quite extreme and in conflict with each other (and look closely), there are many shades of grey in between."
Meanwhile getting the house in order, cleaning up corruption, electing new leaders and getting Ukraine back on track, both politically and economically, is at the top of parliament's to-do list.
On Sunday, Ukrainian lawmakers elected an interim president, opposition leader Oleksandr Turchynov, and in the coming days, they will select a new prime minister. Released opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko already has said she doesn't want the job.
PROFILE: Who is Yulia Tymoshenko?
Officials have moved to set up investigations into the deaths of dozens of protesters last week and also into the "thievery" by public officials including the former president. Authorities also have approved to turn Yanukovych's mansion — fitted with millions of dollars' worth of chandeliers and other lavish items, including ostriches, paid for by taxpayers — into public property.
In spite of the relief of the past day, some protesters say they are skeptical of a good and lasting outcome, pointing to the short-lived tenure of democratic reforms introduced after Ukraine's 2004 Orange Revolution, when Yanukovych won a rigged election and was forced out of office the first time.
"This is a problem dating back to Soviet times," said documentary maker Sasha Under. "You can't change mentalities overnight."
Jabeen Bhatti reported from Berlin. Contributing: Luigi Serenelli from Berlin.
Ukraine clashes over choice between Russia, West
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