A man draped in a Ukrainian flag stands in front of a chess board in the middle of the protest camp that has been built up on the Maidan in central Kiev. Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square), renamed Euro Maidan by protesters who have camped out there since 21 November 2013, has become the focal point for an enduring protest movement against the government of Viktor Yanukovych. The protests were sparked by the Ukrainian government's decision to suspend preparations for the signing of an association agreement with the European Union that would have increased trade with the EU. Some believe that the U-turn came about as a result of pressure from President Putin of Russia who wants Ukraine to join a customs union with itself, Kazakhstan and Belarus.