Russia's Seizure of Crimea Is Making Former Soviet States Nervous

The Atlantic ^ | 1 Mar 14 | Matt Ford

[elhombrelibre]

For the first time since the Soviet Union's collapse more than two decades ago, Russian military forces have moved into an Eastern European country and occupied its territory. Over 15,000 Russian soldiers are now stationed in Ukraine's autonomous republic of Crimea, according to Ukrainian officials (it's not clear how many of them were already in the region before this crisis), in a deployment ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin to protect "Russian citizens and compatriots on Ukrainian territory." No shots have been fired, but Ukraine's acting president, Oleksandr Turchynov, has placed his country's military on its highest alert level to deter "potential aggression," as the United States condemned Russia's "invasion and occupation of Ukrainian territory" in violation of international law.

[Travis McGee]

It's a very bad parallel, because Crimea is not just part of any Eastern European country.

Crimea was part of Russia from the 1780s under Catherine the Great. Before that, it belonged to the Ottoman Empire, now defunct. Before that, it belonged to the city-state of Venice, now defunct.

In 1954, when the Ukraine was the Ukrainian SSR of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev literally gifted the Crimea to Ukraine as part of an internal USSR political deal to secure the support of the Ukrainian party bosses for his succession following the death of Stalin.

This was a purely internal USSR political gift with no international consequences in the 1950s. The Soviet military bases remained Soviet military bases. Khrushchev's unilateral political gift was of no concern to the world until the breakup of the USSR.

The way that Russians see the situation is that Putin is undoing Khrushchev's blunder. What Khrushchev gave away, Putin is taking back, and returning to the Russian fold.

It's important to understand this history. Crimea is the location of Russia's all-weather naval bases, and has been for over 200 years. The fluke of "Ukrainian Crimea" only lasted from 1954 until 2014, sixty years, a blink in historical terms. Before Khrushchev's unilateral political gift, Crimea was never part of Ukraine for one single day in recorded history.

Imagine a dictatorial President Eisenhower, on his own, "giving" NYC and Long Island to Connecticut in return for CT electoral college votes to assure his election. That is how Crimea was transferred to Ukraine in 1954.

Now, Putin is a KGB thug, leader of assassins, and probably the greatest thief in history. But it's important to get the history right in order to avoid mistaking the situation for something it is not, and blundering into a major war. Crimea is not analogous to Latvia, Poland, or even the rest of Ukraine.

[Katya]

everyone seems to forget that the ukrainien kruschev handed the crimea over to the ukraine in the first place... There is a very nationalistic tide rolling over the Ukraine, and it does not forbode well for the huge population of ethnic russians who have been living there just as long as the western ukrainians.

[lodi90]

Moscow may be ruthless towards its foes but stands by its friends.

Every ex-Soviet state will run to cut a deal with the Kremlin after they see the West’s weak, hesitant and confused dithering and lack of resolve.

The West has lot of fine words but has no real credibility to back them up. And they will conclude its dangerous to resist Russia and its far better to be in its embrace.

Moscow knows how to play geopolitical chess; the West isn’t even making a serious counter-move.

---

Rubbish. Russia has a long history of raping and murdering its neighbors under the barrel of a gun. Russia is run by a KGB thug who arrests, jails and murders his political opponents. You can write any fairy tale you want but that i doesn’t make it factually true. Russia’s neighbors know their historical facts. All who could chose the EU did. All of them. Think about that fact before you write another Russophile fairy tale.

[lodi90]

The Tartars have been in Crimea a lot longer than these imported Russians. They all want to stay in Ukraine and want nothing to do with Russia. Do they get a separate vote? How about the Volga Tartars? Are they free to have an independent state and leave Russia?

[Ivan Mazepa]

Issues with Russian military occupation of Crimea:
- the act is illegal in itself and a breach in international law. Russia had recognized Ukraine as an independent state at the collapse of USSR, supporting its territorial integrity, which included Crimea. So at this point, it looks as just another Russian document not worth the paper it’s printed on.

- puts Ukraine’s entire south-eastern region at risk. All road and train connections go through Ukraine, ditto for electricity, water and gas.If Crimea was to be annexed, it would be isolated from the rest of RF and Putin will be pushing to connect it to Russia by occupying more Ukrainian territory.

- there are Ukrainian interests in Crimea. Quarter of the population is Ukrainian, Tatars another 12%.

[Travis McGee]

So what? Crimea is more Russian than Hawaii is American. Would we give up the Hawaiian naval bases if there were riots by native Hawaiians in Oahu? Hell no.

I am no Putin fan. He is a thug, killer, and mega-thief. But it’s important to understand Crimea’s RUSSIAN history, and bogus political transfer to Ukraine by Khrushchev.

It’s important that folks understand that Russia moving (back) into Crimea is NOT the same as Russia moving into Latvia, Poland, or the rest of Ukraine.

For all Russians, Crimea is a true “red line” and worth fighting for. It is simply not correct to compare it in equal terms to other Eastern European countries, regardless of their percentages of Russian speakers.

[Travis McGee]

The Tatars were once upon a time Mongol invaders who chopped off many native Crimean heads to obtain the land.

How far back do you go? Neanderthals vs. Cro-Magnon?

The point is, to Russians, Crimea was and is Russian, notwithstanding Khrushchev’s gift of it to Ukraine for his own personal political reasons.

[Katya]

indirectly making my point... the Crimea isn’t Ukrainian to begin with, maybe we should just hand it over to the Turks lol. i’m no fan of Putin, but I find the news media has given no context what so ever to explain what is happening in the region. I’m genuinely concerned as to what will happen to ethnic russians in Kiev etc

[lodi90]

The point is, to Russians, Crimea was and is Russian, notwithstanding Khrushchev’s gift of it to Ukraine for his own personal political reasons.

---

To Russians ALL of the former Soviet Union is “Russian”.

The point is Tartars have just as much right to self determination as these mostly Soviet era ethnic Russian Crimean transplants. That is several hundred thousand Tartars who want nothing to do with Russians. What’s the plan for them?

If we are going to redraw borders then let Russia be the first. That that isn’t happening tells us this is just the old school Russian expansionist playbook cracked open by the KGB thug in Moscow. Putin is using all the classic Soviet thug moves. 5th column, figurehead leader, sham elections, etc., etc. This is nothing new and he surely won’t stop with Crimea.

[Travis McGee]

And the Tatars just naturally evolved on the Crimean peninsula? Really? I thought they were the descendants of the bloody and butchering Mongol Horde, not exactly pacifists.

So, should we give America back to the Indians? Hawaii to the Hawaiians?

[Ivan Mazepa]

There can always be an excuse for military invasion, and Russian history in Crimea is just an excuse. When Russians move to the rest of Ukraine and Kiev, their excuse would be, it’s a “mother of Rus cities and cradle of their civilization” and so on.

Baltic states - to protect the Russians there.
Poland - because they supported Ukrainian “nationalists” and generally are evil people /sarc

I’m glad you agree that Putin is a thug, but you don’t stop a thug after you grant him his wish, however well reasoned. You gotta nip that sucker in the bud

[Ivan Mazepa]

Nothing will happen to ethnic Russians in Kiev. They have opposed Yanukovich and now Putin, as actively as the “banderites” from the west.

[Travis McGee]

Crimea was and will be Russian. It’s not the “Hitler proof test case.”

The rest of Ukraine, the Baltics etc will be the proof, or not.

[Roy Tucker]

Russian Ambassador Aleksandr Veshnyakov created a new wave of concern in Latvia with recent remarks saying it may soon become easier for ethnic Russians in Latvia to obtain Russian citizenship.

Mr. Veshnyakov told Latvian Radio 4, a Russian-language public broadcasting channel, that proposed legislation in Russia would allow granting Russian citizenship to ethnic Russians in Latvia to “save the Latvian noncitizens out of poverty by giving them citizenship and a pension without having to stay in Russia.” Russians constitute 27.6% of Latvia’s population of 2 million, the largest ethnic group among the minorities living in Latvia.

The comments come as many in the three Baltic nations—part of the former Soviet Union—have expressed fears about being the target of possible Russian expansionism. Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia—all members of NATO and the European Union—have been working to forge economic ties with Europe by joining the euro zone while also scrambling to lessen dependence on Russian energy.

Russia has justified its moves in Ukraine as a defense of ethnic Russians and Russian speakers. Moscow has complained about Latvia’s alleged mistreatment of ethnic Russians there.