Posted on 02/23/2014 4:56:29 AM PST by cunning_fish
Edited on 02/23/2014 5:08:41 AM PST by Sidebar Moderator. [history]
The picture above shows the scene earlier today in Kiev, as Ukraine's parliament voted to hold early elections and dismiss President Viktor Yanukovych.
It's a heart-warming image. The bloody, protracted protests in Ukraine seem to have achieved their goals: Yanukovych is gone, new elections are due, and Yulia Tymoshenko, a key figure in Ukraine
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Good post. Thanks
TB2K.com thread on Ukraine has much information, pics...
200+ planes nearly all jets, left Ukraine with human and cash cargo... “Oligarchs”!!?? meanwhile, Guzman goes down...
Russian gas pipelines at stake, divisions historic east/west
inflaming. language, nationality, religions...
pics of presidents palace, zoo, garage, documents being fished out of water...
Next stop: Venezeula?
Ukraine doesn’t need the Crimea. Its problem isn’t a lack of land - it’s the passel of corrupt deals made with Russian oligarchs with the imprimatur of Ukrainian pols bought by Putin and his clique. They should just ditch the land and agree to go their separate ways. Alignment with the EU should see Ukraine rapidly catch up with Russia in per capita income despite Russia’s superior raw materials endowments. Poland’s number is about the same as Russia’s and this is with none of Ukraine’s (or Russia’s) mineral resources.
TB2K.com? Domain for sale.
The 2014 Ukrainian Maiden Revolt
(Jeff Head’s outstanding photo essay.)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3126051/posts
Last I read, Crimea is preparing to secede from the Ukraine.
It should be a peaceful process.
We have our own Crimea here. It stretches from sea to shining sea.
There are ethnic groups who suffered staggering cruelties in the first half of the twentieth century whose stories are all but forgotten for lack of having contemporary political appeal. The Ukrainians are such a people.
Russians are only 17% of the population. Ethnic Ukrainian Russophones make up the larger part of the Russian-speaking population, especially in the east and south of the country.
They are asking themselves if Western Ukrainians can trample underfoot an agreement co-signed with Western European powers, whether their Russian language and cultural rights are safe.
While they may be celebrating Yanukovych’s ouster in Kiev and western Ukraine, things are quite tense in the rest of the country who look upon the past few day events as illegitimate and directed against them.
Crimea was originally a part of the Russian SSR, until Khrushchev gave it to the Ukrainian SSR in the 50s.
Khrushchev was boss of the Ukraine, under Stalin.
The Russian Navy Black Sea Fleet is stationed in the Crimea. If the new Ukrainian government nullifies the agreement made by the previous government with Russia to extend the Russian lease there, don’t be surprised if Russia moves to take over the peninsula.
That outraged Russian nationalists to no end. Russians were denied by the collusion of Yeltsin and Kravchuck their democratic right to rejoin Russia solely because Khruschev gave it as a “gift” to Ukraine and the ethnic Russian majority in Crimea would rather see region revert to Russian rule.
Interesting article about the history of Khrushchev’s “gift”....
http://english.pravda.ru/history/19-02-2009/107129-ussr_crimea_ukraine-0/
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