It's eastern Europe, nothing is about "working". You are thinking anglosaxon. It's about being. Beong Ukrainian is as important to russian speakers in the east and south as it is to ukrainian speakers in north-west. Russian Crimean care about being Russian, fine if they can be autonomous within Ukraine as long as Kiev stays far away and shuts up. As soon as they feel questioned as Russians as it is the case in a revolution that is far more nationalistic than the western media want to report, especially since the far right managed to take over the milice force in The north-west. They are not all neonazis antisemits but they are numerous enough to make it in the Crimean general public's representation of Kiev's new power.

My connexions are Crimean jewish and russian speaking from Odessa, so this is what obsesses them and they fear this new power in Kiev. Russia is their best friend..... objectively their best friend. They are emotional about it, so they might wel exagerate the danger from Kiev, but the feeling is real. The interests of Moscow to teach a lesson to the NATO agents "helping" the pro-Kiev, like they've been doing since day one of the end of the soviet time, does the rest (sorry, German syntax).

Crimea is an unsolved rest of Khrushchov soviet time. It is still a provisory situation in a Russian brain, bit of course, no ukrainian brain will agree with that. The only reason it "worked" for so long is communism before 1991 and cultural politics with Russian speaking Ukrainians during the difficult years of the compromise. I've heard the present status is only sealed until 2042, it is a time bomb if the western countries play the Ukraine against Russia.

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Es wird nichts ausgelassen, um mich hier herauszuekeln. Ein Lehrbuch. False accusations and attacks continue. There is no stopping righteous people when they are wrong.

Good point. Munich all over again.

En plus, which is more relevant, large part of Ukraine used to be Czechoslovakian and was stolen and annexed to USSR.

I hope things work out for the local people.

I've studied this part of the world.

This is more like a family squabble than some kind of prequel to war. Crimea is vital to the Russian's Black Sea Fleet. The Russians leased their bases from the Ukrainians, and stationed nuclear capable Sukhois Su-24 jets at Gvardeyskoye. When in 2009 the Uktrainians instructed the Russians to leave the facilities by 2017, the Russians expanded their facilities and ignored all previously agreed agreements.

Russia doesn't see Ukraine as a foreign nation; it was the same country, same traditions and with both the EU and NATO courting Kiev to be more western oriented, Russia felt like it was marrying one of it's children off to undesirables.

I'm not condoning anything, just trying to put this sequence of events into proportion. Was it coincidence that the Crimean occupation happened a week after the Winter Olympics closed? Absolutely not. Russia saw months ago that Yanukovych wasn't going to be able to hold power, so they prepared for everything that is happening now to ensure that their influence remained in Kiev.

With NATO having won Turkey to its ranks a few decades ago, the Soviets felt exposed, especially as Iran was also pro-west at the time with the Americans having bought the Shah. The Crimean Peninsula's tactical position cannot be overstated. Russia is flexing its might, because it cannot allow western influenced nations to set up shop right on the doorstep. Just in the same way that the US didn't tolerate Soviet missiles on Cuba back in the 60s.

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Crash your karma into little bits of happiness

If you don't believe this true, try to google 'The Budapest Memorandom 1994'. They promised to protect the Ukraine and it's borders.

Kiev are now calling on Britain and the US to intervene.

Britain and the US are powerless to intervene either strategically or diplomatically. Putin has all the cards and knows full well that the west can only threaten with sanctions. At which point supplies of natural gas and raw minerals may no longer head west.

Any Russian action against Ukraine will help NeoNazis in Ukraine AND in Russia, and that in turn will help NeoNazis in Germany. And Mrs Merkel is the ideal negotiator as she speaks excellently Russian and Putin speaks excellently German. If somebody has a chance at present it is the German Federal Chancellor

Yikes! There's ignorant and then there's just plain..I mean...ignorant. Russia doesn't have to trade with the west or anyone else but it's already turning into an economic basket case, buoyed solely by high energy prices. As those energy prices dip, Russia will become more and more dependent on stable supply.

I can't speak for the UK, but the US does not need Russia for nat gas. Europe needs Russia (and Ukraine, for that matter, for the pipelines), but not the US.

Yes I know its true , the promises .But the doing it I lough at

About "At which point supplies of natural gas and raw minerals may no longer head west."

Due to the mild winter and early spring the natural gas threat may not be so significant; I am sure there are also gas reserves in the West.

On the other side the Russians are burning up their central bank foreign reserves supporting the rouble so turning off supplies of natural gas and raw minerals also turns off the foreign money tap so could also be a shot in own foot?

Russia's central bank hiked its key lending rate today to 7% from 5.5% but the rouble still fell circa 2%.

Start "Fracking"

The West up to now apparently has NOT threatened with sanctions. Mr Putin however should bear in mind that to play rough too much, will push his country into isolation, and also that such an action may have consequences in Central Asia, consequences unwanted by Moscow and Delhi. Good it would be for Pakistan as the USA and Britain had then to court Rawalpindi-Islamabad, good for Iran for various reasons, and fairly good for Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan whose importance will grow. New games and new cards

and if we look at a Russia possibly engulfed by crisis, it is interesting to look at the exporters of natural gas

1Russia199,900,000,000
2Norway99,750,000,000
3Qatar94,810,000,000
4Canada92,400,000,000
5Netherlands57,750,000,000
6Algeria55,280,000,000
7Indonesia42,330,000,000
8United States32,200,000,000
9Malaysia30,790,000,000
10Australia24,700,000,000
11Trinidad and Tobago20,410,000,000
12Egypt18,320,000,000
13Turkmenistan18,000,000,000
14Germany16,190,000,000
15Nigeria15,990,000,000
16United Kingdom15,650,000,000
17Uzbekistan15,200,000,000
18Bolivia11,720,000,000
19Oman11,540,000,000
20Libya9,890,000,000
21Brunei8,810,000,000
22Burma8,290,000,000
23Kazakhstan8,100,000,000
24Iran7,870,000,000
25United Arab Emirates7,010,000,000
26Azerbaijan5,930,000,000
27Austria5,439,000,000
28Equatorial Guinea4,720,000,000
29Peru3,590,000,000
30Mozambique3,500,000,000
31Denmark3,478,000,000
32China3,210,000,000
33France2,945,000,000
34Ukraine2,800,000,000
36Spain1,152,000,000
37Argentina880,000,00038Slovakia808,000,00039Turkey649,000,00040Croatia439,000,00041Yemen420,000,00042Hungary227,000,00043Mexico200,000,000

>> Algeria is on rank 6 but may profit from upheavals around the Russian Empire. Egypt at rank 12 may well profit as well. Yemen, at rank 41 only now, but with vast reserves, may profit in a big way. All three countries have had close political and economic relations with the USSR, and even Egypt in reality retained much of them, but that will not hinder the TRIO to profit from the situation. General Field Marshal as-Sisi in Cairo will play the game as best as possible.

Between this and the EU menace, I guess Switzerland will have to rethink the stupid idea of retiring the nukes.

Tom

The mess 100 years ago also came about because of treaties.

Perhaps the latest Swiss vote will start a new trend in breaking them.

Tom

Too old mate

Oh, "Fracking"

Sorry but wrong term. In modern diplomacy it is described as renegotiating and not as breaking. just as the war ministries of the past long ago became Ministries of Defence --- Correct language is sooooo important

It seems like the old saying of history repeating itself. I don't like this situation one bit, as there are strong indicators of yet another major conflict which could possibly rattle the global economy even more.

Czar Vladimir I of the dynasty of the Putinov does not care about such details as the global economy.

Here the new Russian Empire

Karte

Carefully watch the EASTERN end of it

and here the idol of Vladimir I


and/or

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ljd2MLlkg6g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ljd2MLlkg6g
--
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpEEw...AUvoeQSR5Nf6dr

and here his ideas about the Europe of the future

a) protect from what: Not sure if you are following the news, but while every German speaking newspaper loves to show pictures of Klitschko is the real thing brewing the rise of some ultra-nationalists who hate everything Russian, including the Russians living in Crimea as well as the Russian military stationed there. They are very likely to be part of the next government of Ukraine.
If we for one second take that western European glasses off is it pretty obvious: it is not some evil master plan by Putin. He is a strong guy but that is based on his "patriotic" positions. Even though everyone thinks he is some sort of dictator would it be political suicide for him and his entire party if they lose the black see fleet. Nobody in the west seems to understand just how important of a symbol it is.


b) We seem to have very different ideas of "independent" - they had some puppet president for most of the time and an utterly incompetent and corrupt Timoshenko regime for the rest... they never confronted the Russians in the country or Russian interests. Now they do and we see what that independence really was...


Bottom line: the world is watching, especially those other countries owning nukes. Who would now really agree to downsize their arsenal in exchange of any sort of security promise? It looks like WMDs are still the best bet so I for one can fully understand any country trying to secure some. Honestly speaking did the Iraq war or Afghanistan have little consequences for other countries. Few lessons to be learned except of "don't become the US' scapegoat" and "don't be a country run by crazy Taleban". This one however has quite some potential for leaders around the world from "the west won't really pull the trigger if you need them, don't believe their promises" to "nukes mean safety". It will make the world a less secure and stable place.

....as opposed to Jobbik in Hungary, Front National in France....or maybe UKIP in the UK?