In this interview, The Real News Networks’ Jessica Desvarieux interviews Nicolai Petro on the situation in the Ukraine. He argues that violence persists between opposition and security forces, as opponents use culture to divide strongly nationalistic Ukrainian groups and Russian-influenced factions.

Nicolai N. Petro is professor of politics at the University of Rhode Island. During the collapse of the Soviet Union he served as special assistant for policy in the U.S. State Department. He has published widely on Russian and international politics, and is currently in Ukraine on a Fulbright research fellowship. His web site iswww.npetro.net.

The views expressed are his own and do not reflect those of the Fulbright program or the U.S. Department of State.