The scenes from Yanukovych’s private zoos, and the very post-Soviet opulence in his residence and summer house give off a bit of a Ceausescu vibe. The melting away of the police and other security forces remind me of Lenin’s observation that he found power lying about in the middle of the street, so he picked it up.

Some of Ukraine’s institutions are functioning again, but this is certainly not the end, nor even the beginning of the end, nor likely even the end of the beginning. There are just too many open questions. Will the parties of the Maidan be able to work together? How much daily corruption will they be able to get rid of? Do they even really want to? (I wonder if any of the new leaders knows how Georgia did it.) What about the governors and mayors in the eastern part of the country? What about the Crimea?

How will the Russian government and state-owned companies respond? What kind of time frame will that response come in? How much are EU countries willing to pony up? Will EU aid be just throwing good money after bad? Can EU leaders see past “everything but institutions,” i.e. everything except what really matters?

But for the first time in a while, there’s a chance for things to go right.