American ex-pat living in Krakow (8 years) here: I honestly believe that the Russians were simply more able to hand out cash and power than the EU were. Yanukovych is Soviet old-school and a politician; I doubt he did more than determine who was willing to offer more (carrot) and/or put the hurt on (stick) and then made his decision. Besides, he knows that closer integration with the EU - gods forbid actual membership - means that he wields less arbitrary power because they require governments with a bit more accountability and consequence.
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