Thousands protest Ukraine upheaval in pro-Russian port

AFP via Yahoo ^ | February 23, 2014 | Oleg Leus

[cunning_fish]

Sevastopol (Ukraine) (AFP) - Waving placards calling for "Mother Russia" to save them, thousands of people rallied Sunday in Ukraine's port city of Sevastopol to denounce the political upheaval in Kiev as fears grow that the country could splinter.

Home to Russia's Black Sea fleet for some 200 years, Sevastopol in Ukraine's autonomous Crimea region is a bastion of pro-Moscow sentiment in the deeply divided ex-Soviet state where mass protests have forced Kremlin-allied president Viktor Yanukovich to flee the capital.

Amid fears that it could become a flashpoint for pro-Russian separatists, the United States, Germany, France and Poland made appeals Sunday for Ukraine's national integrity to be preserved.

In a phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel both leaders opposed partition, German officials said.

But among some in Sevastopol anger seems to be rising.

"The fascists have taken power in Kiev!" shouted one speaker to the crowd of roughly 10,000 demonstrators as they waved Russian tricolours and navy banners.

On Sunday the opposition-controlled parliament in Kiev appointed a new interim president a day after voting to oust Yanukovych after months of protests turned into a bloodbath this past week, with scores of people gunned down by police.

While protesters in Kiev have mainly come from the country's pro-Western Ukrainian-speaking population, in Yanukovych's Russian-speaking heartland in the east and in Crimea people have been frosty if not outright hostile to the changes.

"Bandits have taken power in Kiev. I am here to protect my town," said Stanislav Bolotnikovsky, 53.

Russia has condemned the events in Ukraine as a putsch and painted the protesters in Kiev -- where nationalist and rightwing groups make up a hardcore -- as dangerous extremists.

Those sentiments were echoed Sunday on the streets of Sevastopol.

[fella]

Putin has had his PR photo-op so now he is free to deal with the Ukraine as he see’s fit. Look for activity at airborne bases and amphibious navel bases plus armor being transported. The buildup won’t take 18 months like our last middle-east adventure.

[Cronos]

My wife has relatives in the Ukraine and we've been living in Poland for the past 3 odd years.

here's the scoop about Crimea -- it is 77% Russian, 10% Ukrainian and 12% Crimean Tartar (the Tartars support the ukrainians) -- and these are not just ordinary Russians, leave alone russian speakers (ethnically there is very little to no difference between Muscowites and Ukrainians) but descendants of KGB and military security forces who were moved there under Stalin.

They are not only very pro-Russian but pro-Soviet Union.

Crimea WILL go to Russia and probably two of the eastern wojewodes -- around Donetsk in particular

[Viennacon]

I somehow doubt it. Ukraine is not Georgia, and Russia likely wouldn’t mind seeing the country just divide in two without the hassle an invasion would create. It gets the satellite east with the valuable Crimea peninsula, and the EU gets the bankrupt west and all its bills. Who loses? Yanukovich? He’s going to get a cushy mountain villa somewhere in Russia.

[DB]

Do you think there’s any hope this won’t get very bloody?

Feelings are pretty much meaningless, but it just feels bad.

[dfwgator]

The only reason Ukraine has The Crimea....

USSR’s Nikita Khrushchev gave Russia’s Crimea away to Ukraine in only 15 minutes

http://english.pravda.ru/history/19-02-2009/107129-ussr_crimea_ukraine-0/

[Truth29]

The EU bailout will come with a lot of conditions which will cause bank and business failures in Ukraine. This will feed the turmoil and instability will go on for quite some time.

[cunning_fish]

>>They are not only very pro-Russian but pro-Soviet Union.<<

Scores of old Cold Warriors, retired Soviet Navy officers who opted for cheap real estates and good climate and decided to live across the fence from their former workplace.

[BlueDragon]

So the supporters of the quasi-fascist "big business" mobsters, call the other side fascists?

It's an up-side down world.

The real problem is that they believe their own words.

[The_Victor]

Russia has condemned the events in Ukraine as a putsch and painted the protesters in Kiev -- where nationalist and rightwing groups make up a hardcore -- as dangerous extremists.

Just eliminate the location references and it all sound too familiar.

[mac_truck]

The EU bailout will come with a lot of conditions which will cause bank and business failures in Ukraine.

Of course the money to fund this euro-socialist nation building scheme will come from the International Monetary Fund not the European Central Bank which means ultimately it will be extorted from American taxpayers.

[Cronos]

There is a chance -- and it depends on Russia

If you look at the linguistic map of Ukraine, there are 3 "states" that are Russian dominated -- Crimea and two others.

They WILL go to Russia and ukraine would be foolish to fight for them (brave, but foolish). There are others with a split, like Charków where there could be fighting

luckily also, the winter is easing up here -- the snow melted two weeks ago in much of Poland and I see that it looks the same in Lwów and Kijów.

so russia cutting off gas will not kill

[dfwgator]

Only reason Ukraine got Crimea, is because Khrushchev wanted to make nice with the Ukrainians after he served as Stalin’s lackey there.

Of course back then it really didn’t matter whether it belonged to the Russian SFSR or the Ukrainian SSR, Moscow was still boss, either way.

[Cronos]

I didn’t know that. Thank you for the information