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America, Crimea, and Ukraine: The Desirable over the Achievable
[AmericanThinker] The Crimea and Eastern Ukrainian conflicts are two of many ethnic conflicts that have become common in the post-Cold War period. In many countries arbitrarily created after the Second World War the unifying principle was the power of the state that forced citizens to tolerate a plethora of incompatibilities. Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Ukraine are prime products of this geopolitical engineering.The collapse of the Soviet Union and the subsequent demise of the so-called "socialist camp" resulted in weakening or overthrowing the authoritarian regimes. The absence of enforcement gave rise to nationalistic aspirations that challenge the cohesiveness of the established order, in some instances, to the point of no order at all. Modern Ukraine is an agglomeration of the territories of the original Ukrainian People's Republic created after the disintegration of the Russian Empire in 1917 and the neighboring countries with some historical and cultural links to Ukraine, and Novo-Russia, or Eastern Ukraine. The most recent addition was Crimea, which Nikita Khrushchev, with proletarian generosity and in violation of the Soviet Constitution, transferred to Ukraine. After the collapse of the USSR, the Russian population of Crimea and Eastern Ukraine found itself trapped under Ukrainian rule. Pro-Russian sentiments ‐ ranging from the recognition of the official status of the Russian language to outright secession ‐ have always been prevalent in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine and are the roots of the current conflict. ...Usually, in conflicts, each side is pursuing an outcome incompatible with the strategic ambition of its adversary. In this case, however, neither Petro Poroshenko nor Vladimir Putin wants Eastern Ukraine. Putin could occupy Eastern Ukraine within 48 hours and face no resistance. Poroshenko could accept a limited autonomy for the belligerent East, which it demanded from the outset, and avoid a bloody conflict altogether. But the rulers in Kiev are not motivated by "one country, one destiny"; they are not motivated by concern for the stability and integrity of Ukraine. Rather, they are moved by billions in financial aid. The aspiration of Poroshenko and his cronies is to become in some sense the Palestinians of Europe, victims of Russian aggression, just as the actual Palestinians are perceived as being victims of Israel. Defeated by superior force, they want the E.U. to adopt them and make Ukraine a black hole for billions of dollars and euros, with no end in sight. Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2018-12-13 |
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