What we can learn from Crimea

[Little Lou]

Hello, ErikEst,

I don't know much about other former Soviet territories, and see no reason to doubt what you say about them. However, I'm talking specifically about Crimea - which I do know very well indeed.

You're quite right that 'nazi' and 'fascist' have long been the favoured names for anything the Russian government doesn't like, but I was replying specifically to NR's Appeasement analogy, which indirectly implies Putin is the Nazi in this situation. In fact the Nazism in Ukraine is very real, as any historian will tell you. You might like to look up their history in the Second World War, for instance, or wonder why so many camp guards in Auschwitz were Ukrainian.

As for the present situation, the 'Nazis' are a very real and present threat. You might like to look at this video, for instance, where the Right Wing groups actually compare themselves to Hitler, and declare that Ukraine should be for the Ukrainians. This isn't Russia Today, by the way - it's the BBC.

And if you wonder why I talk about such elements in the Ukrainian's own government, you might find this video of interest. It shows members of the new parliament physically intimidating the head of state broadcasting into resigning for the crime of showing a clip of Putin's speech on TV. Again, the source is the BBC. Please note, these are not just street thugs, but actual members of parliament, and in a democracy our MPs do not behave in this way.

As for why 'I' haven't complained before - why would I? I don't live in Crimea, and this is a forum about survival, not politics. The inhabitants of Crimea themselves have, of course, complained many times before, and if you're familiar with Ukraine you'll know that they tried for self-government as far back as 1992. In 1995 things got so bad that Ukraine broke its own agreed constitution by abolishing the role of Crimean President and announcing that from now on even the Prime Minister would be appointed by Ukraine rather than the supposedly Autonomous Republic of Crimea. There were more anti-Ukrainian riots there in 2009, shortly before I first visited. This isn't Putin propaganda - it's historical fact, and even Wikipedia acknowledges it.

I have no axe to grind in this, but as a historian I do like facts to be accurate. Beyond that is politics, and we have been told repeatedly that this is not the forum for that. I find what you have to say interesting, but let's not get drawn away from the main subject.