Re:Living in Kiev: My first 3 months of observations
by geoka9 on Monday February 06, 2017 @10:03PM
(#13586616)
I think these questions are a mute point here, because Crimea wasn't annexed to appease the people of Crimea; it was annexed to deliberately f* up Ukraine and boost Putin's popular support in Russia.
Re:Living in Kiev: My first 3 months of observations
by smsm42 on Tuesday February 07, 2017 @01:23AM
(#13587508)
> The Russians have been happy to recognize the right of Abkhazia and Crimea to determine their own path
As long as "their own path" means being part of Russia. Had there been any political force even talking about any other path, they'd be swiftly suppressed, it's a felony in Russia to promote secession.
Re:Living in Kiev: My first 3 months of observations
by my_first_acct on Tuesday February 07, 2017 @01:43AM
(#13587601)
> it's a felony in Russia to promote secession.
I would guess that it's a felony only if you promote secession from Russia. For instance, people living in Russia are playing some kind of role in the California secession movement ("Calexit") [1].
[1] http://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Advocate-s-Russi...
Re:Living in Kiev: My first 3 months of observations
by smsm42 on Tuesday February 07, 2017 @12:53PM
(#13591118)
Oh of course I meant "secession from Russia". It's OK to promote any other kind of secession, as long as it does not contradict Kremlin policies (if it does, you could be a target of anything from low-level harassment to murder).
First: did the residents of Crimea prefer to be part of Ukraine or part of Russia?
Second: should residents of a region have the right to declare independence (or annex themselves to another country) without getting permission from the government of their current country?
The US fought a bloody war 150 years ago to settle this issue (no, US states do not have the right to leave). But they followed a different policy on Kosovo.
The Russians have been happy to recognize the right of Abkhazia and Crimea to determine their own path, but didn't grant the same rights to Chechnya (or recognize the split of Kosovo from Serbia).
China, with Tibet, Taiwan, and Hong Kong on its mind, did not show any support for Crimea's move to Russia.