Unreasonable

Vladimir Putin

arindam | 24 Mar, 2014

For annexing Crimea, formerly a part of Ukraine

The carving and breaking up of nations may seem like a thing of colonial times, but Russia has done just that with complete impunity. Within a month of sending troops to Crimea, a semiautonomous region in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a treaty at the Kremlin announcing that Crimea would henceforth officially be under the Russian government. Crimea has a Russian ethnic majority and had its own parliament, though the Ukranian government had veto powers over it. It was brought under the Ukrainian government by the Soviet regime in 1954. Russian troops took over the region before Putin announced that the region was formally under the Russian government. He based his decision on a suspect referendum. Putin might announce the annexation as the ‘will of the people’, but it is a dangerous move that has upset the peace in the region. Ukraine has warned of war and the move has revived separatist movements in the region— with former Soviet republics like Moldova requesting similar action.