tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post2534766044970044845..comments2024-03-28T12:17:44.126-05:00Comments on TYWKIWDBI ("Tai-Wiki-Widbee"): Why did Russia give away Crimea in the first place?Minnesotastanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01382888179579245181noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-79130716585225713382014-05-06T01:14:37.461-05:002014-05-06T01:14:37.461-05:00You might be interested in opinion of Sergei Khrus...You might be interested in opinion of Sergei Khruschev (Nikita Khruscev's son):<br />Khrushchev’s son Sergei said the decision to give Crimea to Ukraine had to do with economics and agriculture - the building of a hydro-electric dam on the Dnieper River which would irrigate Ukraine’s southern regions, including Crimea.<br /><br />“As the Dnieper and the hydro-electric dam [is] on Ukrainian territory, let’s transfer the rest of the territory of Crimea under the Ukrainian supervision so they will be responsible for everything," Sergei Khrushchev said. "And they did it. It was not a political move, it was not an ideological move - it was just business.”<br /><br />http://www.voanews.com/content/khrushchevs-son-giving-crimea-back-to-russia-not-an-option/1865752.htmlAleksejshttps://twitter.com/aleksejsznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-3535901487067003612014-05-04T13:50:36.880-05:002014-05-04T13:50:36.880-05:00@buccaneer - And thus the fear of Latvia, Lithuani...@buccaneer - And thus the fear of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia and probably all the others as well. It is very important that the United States and Britain and all of Europe take a very firm stance to protect those post-soviet countries. This is a very frightening time and yet most of the world seems oblivious to what's going on.Classof65https://www.blogger.com/profile/15620524862669295761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-91404046190522115402014-05-04T13:44:20.925-05:002014-05-04T13:44:20.925-05:00Who goes to cocktail parties?Who goes to cocktail parties?Classof65https://www.blogger.com/profile/15620524862669295761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-77233974839023778642014-05-04T12:48:52.777-05:002014-05-04T12:48:52.777-05:00I don't like the way the 1954 handover is give...I don't like the way the 1954 handover is given so much importance, especially when it is presented as a direct "counterweight" to the current annexation. What happened in 1954 was nothing but an administrative reshuffling to make it easier to rule an empire - certainly not an international event. <br /><br />Territory swapping between individual soviet "republics" was almost routine: the borders of UkrSSR (and thus of modern-day Ukraine as well) were formed through <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ukraine-growth.png" rel="nofollow">no less than seven such events</a>, of which Crimean handover was the last. Another dramatic example would be Kazakhstan, which was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Soviet_Federative_Socialist_Republic#1930s" rel="nofollow">entirely part of RSFSR</a> until 1936 when it became a separate SSR.<br /><br />It would be more accurate to say that Russia lost Crimea in 1991 when it became part of independent Ukraine. This assumes a practical definition of "Russia" over time (Russian Empire -> USSR -> Russian Federation) instead of a technical one (Russian Empire -> RSFSR -> Russian Federation). If we accept that border redrawing within the USSR is something that can be legitimately "reversed" today, it sets a nasty precedent that could be used to threaten the sovereignty of practically all independent post-soviet states, which generally want to have nothing to do with Russia.bucaneerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05630311295205545919noreply@blogger.com