Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past couple of weeks, you’ve probably heard that there’s some trouble abroad in Ukraine. It seems kind of funny that such a small and not-super-economically-significant country in Eastern Europe is garnering so much media coverage, especially in the West. But when considering Russia’s antagonistic role in the situation, this anti-Kremlin rhetoric and sympathizing with the Ukraine seems more appropriate.

Ukraine is a former Soviet state. It gained its independence in June of 1941, and it has actually proved to be one of the more successful stories of severing ties with the former Soviet Union.

Despite its “independence,” Ukraine has served as somewhat of a puppet for Putin and the Kremlin at large. Ukraine still harnesses a fairly large Russian-speaking population, and therefore the population has been democratically electing pro-Russian leaders. Essentially the elections in Ukraine were divided by two candidates: Viktor Yanukovych, the pro-Russian voice, and Yulia Tymoshenko, the pro-West-joining-the-European-Union voice.

Despite his election in 2010, Yanukovych recently fled the country after being ousted by the Ukrainian Parliament as protests against his government became increasingly violent.

As of current, Oleksandr Turchynov is acting as president. Turchynov really differentiates from Yanukovych in the sense that he leans much more towards the West. Despite the new president, Russia has not given up and is instead pushing on into a military occupation of Crimea, the primarily pro-Russian area of Ukraine. Some in this region even believe the Soviet era to be their golden days.

So what does the future hold for Ukraine? For some, the best-foreseen solution would be to have Russia back off and Ukraine move towards a more universally pro-West, pro-European Union government.

For others, it would be the absorption of all or some of Ukraine back into Russia. This seems like a bit of a strange thing to want – especially if you’re not Russian – considering that the independence of Ukraine is a fairly new development. But, when considering how strong and charismatic of a leader Russian president Vladimir Putin is, it becomes clearer as to why this would be ideal for some. For some, the sacrifice of certain liberties and freedoms is a fair price to pay for stability and strength.

Only time will tell what the future holds.