The Ukrainian Revolution took place in February 18th to 23rd in 2014. The revolution took placed in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev. It resulted in the ousting of the Ukrainian president Viktor Yanokovych, a change in the Ukrainian political system, and a restoration of their constitution. The problems that led to this revolution began with the disbandment of the Soviet Union. When Ukraine became an independent country again it was faced with many hardships such as corruption, mismanagement, and lack of economic growth. In the 2000’s Ukraine began to have a closer relationship with the European Union. Ukraine hoped to achieve an association agreement that would fund Ukraine if they would liberalise reforms. While president Yanokovych initially agreed to sign the agreement, he refused to do so last minute, and instead signed a treaty along with a multi-billion dollar loan with Russian. This caused many protests in the capital of Kiev.

The protest were at first were relatively calm. However that abruptly ended when protesters and police clashed on February 18th. 20,000 protesters made their way to the Ukrainian Parliament in hopes of revising the Ukrainian Constitution. Police officers dressed in riot gear blocked the way. The confrontation became violent and the once peaceful protesters became revolutionaries. The city became a warzone as the protesters made their way to the Parliament building, and the police trying to bring the protesters under control. The police at first used rubber bullets to stop the protesters but soon changed to live ammunition as well as tear gas and flash grenades. The police had snipers in buildings and on the streets to pick off protesters armed only with makeshift shields, crude weapons, and makeshift explosives. The violence only got worse from that point.

The next day the police began to set up checkpoints, set up restrictions on public transportation, and closed schools. The city of Kiev was put into a state of emergency. The violence among police and protesters only increased. Protesters built barricades to shield themselves from the constant fire of the police. Many buildings along the streets of Kiev were turned into hospitals managed by volunteer doctors. The number of killed, both police and protester  vary from 70 to 100. The number that were injured was over 1,000. Various news teams on the scene gave coverage of the turmoil that was happening at the time. By February 22nd the protesters had control of Kiev, and Yanukovych had fled the city into eastern Ukraine. The Parliament then unanimously voted to impeach president Yanukovych.

The aftermath of the revolution was met with many obstacles, most evident the pro-russian separatists in the south-eastern region of the country. A stand-off with the Russians over the annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol, which ended with the Russians gaining both territories. However the newly appointed leader of the Ukrainian government signed the European Union association agreement and agreed to reform the country’s judiciary and political system, and its financial and economical policies. Rebuilding Kiev was also a challenge that faced the Ukrainians but over time the city looks just as it has been. Ukraine now has a second chance to be a country that is much less corrupt and better for its people.

For More Information Check Out These Videos - http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-26248275

Resources - 
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-26248275
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Ukrainian_revolution#Casualties
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euromaidan

The Stanford prison experiment was a psychological experiment conducted at Stanford University from August 14-20, 1971. The purpose of the experiment was to study the psychological effects of becoming a prisoner or a guard. The experiment was led by the psychology professor Phillip Zimbardo and a team of researchers. Participants were told they were to take place in a two-week prison simulation and would be paid fifteen dollars a day. Out of the seventy-five volunteers twenty-four were chosen due to them being the most psychologically stable and healthy. The participants were split into two groups of twelve. Half of the participants would be prisoners and the other half would be guards. A makeshift prison was made in the basement of Stanford’s psychology building complete with small mock cells and a hallway serving as a prison yard.

On the first day the prisoners were subject to a fake arrest and taken to their new prison. They were stripped and given uncomfortable smocks with a number, caps to cover their hair, and a chain around their ankle. Guards were outfitted with clothing similar to prison guard uniform and given wooden batons and sunglasses to show their authority. Guards were instructed to address prisoners by their number to take away their individuality. The rest of the day was uneventful with little problems. However on the second day the prisoners of one cell began to revolt by blocking the door to their cell by using their mattresses and mocking the guards. The guards subdued the revolt by bringing in more guards and using fire extinguishers to attack the prisoners. Once the rebellion was crushed the guards decided to use psychological tactics to control the prisoner. The guards set up a privilege cell and allowed the prisoners who were not part of the riot to stay in this cell, and they also received better meals.

Conditions only worsened for the prisoners. After only thirty-six hours prisoner #8612 began to act crazy. He screamed, cursed, and went into a rage. It took several hours before the research team was convinced he was suffering and let him go. Guards became more abusive to the prisoners. They wouldn’t allow prisoners to use the toilet, and provided them with a sanitary bucket in their cell. They would make the prisoners give up their mattresses and make them sleep on the concrete floor. Some prisoners were forced to be naked and suffered degradation. It became evident that some of the guards exhibited sadistic tendencies. Prisoner #416 was a newly admitted to the prison and was concerned about the state of the other prisoners. He began a hunger strike which angered the guards. He was sent to solitary confinement and the guards told the other prisoners if they gave up their blankets they would release him. All but one prisoner refused.

Zimbardo ended the experiment early when a graduate student showed major concern about the condition and the treatment of the prisoners after she was added to the experiment to conduct interviews. Out of the fifty observers of the experiment she was the only one who questioned the morality of it. The entirety of the experiment lasted six days. The research from this experiment has greatly affected the prison system in America. For example juveniles accused of federal crimes are no longer housed before trial with adult prisoners. We can learn a lot from the experiment. We can ask ourselves what will happen when one is given absolute power, and what will happen when you take away human individuality.

For More Information Check Out This Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_LKzEqlPto

Resources  - http://www.prisonexp.org/the-story/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_prison_experiment

http://www.newyorker.com/science/maria-konnikova/the-real-lesson-of-the-stanford-prison-experiment