A new way of communicating: what to do about Russia after the Crimean referendum (John C. Hulsman, Aspenia online)
17.03.2014 14:41
Given the strong cultural prevalence of Russian speakers in the province, if a free and fair election had been held, Crimea might well have voted to secede from Ukraine anyway. But President Putin has left nothing to chance; Crimean voters have literally cast their ballots under the eyes of Russian troops. Voting under the barrel of a gun could only produce one outcome: Crimea will either formally join Russia or emerge as a Russian enclave, much like Abkhazia or South Ossetia in Georgia, effectively crippling the precarious Ukrainian state and securing Russia’s access to a warm water sea port.