It’s Time for Ukraine’s Protesters to Bargain

The hundreds of thousands of protesters who poured into the streets of Kiev this weekend, tearing down a statue of Lenin, believe their country’s future is under threat from Russia. They are right. They also need to get off the streets.

Yes, the man they are marching against -- Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych -- runs a regime that has become increasingly corrupt. He paid a visit last week to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, fueling speculation that the two were cutting a deal that would jeopardize Ukraine’s future as an independent, European-style democracy. Partly in response, demonstrators seized government buildings and threw up barricades around the city over the weekend. On Monday, riot police encircled the protesters, and legislators from Yanukovych’s party talked of bringing treason charges against opposition leaders.