KIEV -- Russia is working assiduously to tighten its grip on Ukraine. With U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld set to visit Kiev in early June, the Bush administration should begin drawing that nation back toward the West.
A year ago Ukraine felt optimistic. Its decade of independence had been hard, but, unlike Russia, Kiev managed to avoid destructive ethnic and religious conflicts.
In 1999, President Leonid Kuchma defeated the communist candidate. He appointed liberal-leaning Viktor Yushchenko as prime minister.