... are just empty gestures, more cruelty to Ukraine than deterrent to Russia. Does anyone in their right mind think Russia worries more about microphone asides from the American President compared to official French and German policy? I have a bridge to Crimea to sell you if you believe that. Which is an interesting segue come to think of it!
In the West one of the more powerful arguments ‘proving’ so-called Russian aggression is the fact that Russia wants to secure areas in Eastern Ukraine ...
Latent tensions have loomed before civil strife actually irrupted in Ukraine amid deep-rooted political uncertainties. That claims upon the Crimean peninsula would be eventually raised by Putin’s Russia, concentrating troops at the borders and effecting what appeared to be a military invasion, followed by a political validation (i.e. the referendums in the Eastern provinces), were not ...
Part Two:
What are the consequences for the buildup of the Black Sea Fleet?
Having examined the plans for the economic development of Crimea and the construction of infrastructures in the peninsula in our previous paper, we now raise issues related to the impact of Russia’s seizure of Crimea for the modernization of the Black Sea Fleet. The buildup of the Black Sea Fleet ‘1....
Part One:
Economic Development: First Steps, First Challenges
Russia’s annexation of Crimea on March 18, 2014 has raised issues related to the economic impact of such a move for Moscow. The takeover of the peninsula as well as Moscow’s involvement in the Ukrainian crisis have sparked economic sanctions from the Euro-Atlantic community....
The “Heavenly Hundred” who fell during the Euromaidan protests and the soldiers who resisted the Russian invasion of Crimea had the potential to contribute to a unifying national narrative in Ukraine. This opportunity was quickly lost, with fighting and rising casualties in Luhansk and Donetsk cementing regional divisions. The failure of President Poroshenko to quickly ...
... rendered the real payment by Ukraine to Russia for gas delivery at 286 USD per 1000 cubic meters. The first discount was immediately connected to the bilateral agreement Russia and Ukraine had signed earlier about the presence of the Russian Navy in Crimea. That agreement was already in place and allowed the Russian Navy to be housed in Crimea for 96 million dollars per year until 2017. The first gas discount negotiated between the two countries was to be applied at the conclusion of the Russian ...
... all parties across the world would universally praise and support their removal of the president, they badly analyzed the situation on the ground in eastern Ukraine. In several media interviews I gave in the United States following the referendum in Crimea, I warned that the greatest possible danger in Ukraine would be civil groups in major eastern Ukrainian cities looking to Crimea as a model to emulate and at the Crimean referendum as a precedent to follow. The reason I said back then that this ...
... off-guard that anyone on the outside would have words or actions for their behavior other than simple congratulatory phone calls. Obviously, this has proven to be a rather large mistake.
A second aspect to play out from the Maidan revolution (the Crimean referendum) is also rather unique and an academic ‘special case study’ worthy of greater attention that as of yet has failed to be recognized here in the West. Most of our studies dealing with regions trying to secede tend to be examples ...
... southwestern neighbour would come at an enormous cost to Russia, not only because of the West’s potentially tough response, but, primarily, in material terms — while popular support for the move is less than evident. In essence, a repetition of the Crimean scenario is possible, but unlikely.
The most likely outcome is far-reaching regional autonomy, perhaps in the context of the federalisation of the state. But no-one knows how, or when, these moves should take place or who should initiate them....
The Arctic Council diplomats gathered in Yellowknife, Canada, from the 25th to the 27th of March to discuss high-level political issues concerning the Arctic. The work of the Arctic Council continues, but the echo of the events that occurred in Crimea cannot be ignored. How is Arctic cooperation responding to this unprecedented crisis in Russian-Western relations? What will happen to Arctic cooperation? Is the rise of tension leading to a security dilemma?
The Yellowknife meeting
The ...