The bloody crisis between the pro-Western two thirds of Ukraine and pro-Russian third of the country is about taxes. The recent $17 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan required Ukraine on May 1st to raise taxes and increase natural gas prices by 50%. With about 58% of the Ukraine’s industry in the eastern zone and workers there making about 50% higher wages, the east is paying the majority of the tax increase. Although residential users will not feel pain from the natural gas price increase until fall, eastern heavy industry is feeling the pain immediately. With the corrupt west raising taxes for the IMF, why is there any surprise the east is rebelling?  About 70% of Ukrainian residents say they consider themselves Ukrainian, but more than 40% of the country primarily speaks Russian. Language differentiation is often used to explain why the eastern third of the country that speaks Russian, favors Russia; and why the non-Russian west favors Europe....(Read Full Article)