G. Kraaijeveld 
In late 2004, tens of thousands of Ukrainians filled the streets of Kyiv to protest a rigged presidential election. The Orange Revolution marked a turning point in Ukraine’s democratic identity and exposed the geopolitical tug-of-war between Russia and the West.
In May 1955, the Soviet Union and seven Eastern European states signed a mutual defense treaty in Warsaw, creating the Warsaw Pact. It solidified the division of Europe and institutionalized the Soviet bloc in direct opposition to NATO.
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (b. 1952) is a Russian political leader, serving as President of Russia for multiple terms since 1999, with an earlier career in the KGB and later in the mayoral administration of St. Petersburg.
