I'm no expert, but there are peaceful protests in the US all the time. Obviously the magnitude is vastly different but if all the president of Ukraine had done was throw some people in jail overnight, or even just for a few hours -- or hell if he'd just let them sit there -- the problem might not have spiraled out of proportion. The old maxim is don't pass laws you aren't willing and able to enforce. Thinking about this a bit more, there have been in the past dictatorships (in name or in fact) that quelled protests ruthlessly for a long time (Soviets, say) -- but it never lasts. It's not a sustainable model, especially in the 21st century. In the world of satellites, I would imagine the only way to deal with a protest short of yielding is to stall it with pointless democracy. Which, to be fair, Yanukovych also tried, albeit it too late. EDIT: welcome to hubski.