Meanwhile in Ukraine... Revolution.

[Balthazar]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-sdO6pwVHQ

[Nemo1024]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-sdO6pwVHQ

Priceless!

Truth is, most common people both in US and EU see what is really happening, but cannot affect it as their politicians ran away from people's control and are acting as if they own the world. Oh, wait, they do own the world.

I really like what one US politician said the other day that Russia has to act as it does now. If it backs off, it'll become just another marionette country deprived of its views and identity.

By the way, about US/EU "bail-outs" to the current illegitimate Ukrainian government. The blogger here (http://mitek-mitekych.livejournal.com/586635.html) put it pretty well: 43 million Ukrainians will eat through 1 billion dollar bail-out during a 2-week period. Another interesting and oh-so-true statement there: "Kerry does not understand that his taking a tour around Maidan is seen by Russians on a genetic level as a declaration of war". The article is called "Ukraine needs nationalism", but it's not as ultra-right as the title makes it sound. There is actually a lot of reason in that post. Run it through Google translate.

By the way, Crimea has thus far been the most quiet and safe for one's life  region, where law and order is observed and any extremist provocations are cut at the root. I don't expect this to change unless "someone" starts to bomb Crimean civilians after today, following the Yugoslav script.

Half of the citizens of Sevastopol have already voted.

In Lugansk, a spontaneous "people's referendum" is conducted with regards to Lugansk' status within Ukraine.

In other news: Former SS legionnaires conducted their traditional march in Riga today.

And to round off today's post with this little map that puts history into perspective:

Light yellow - Ukraine before the "totalitarian regime" (1654)
Upper part of the map - Russian tzars' presents (1654-1917)
Blue - Present from Lenin (Novorussia, Donbass) (1922)
Red - Present from Stalin (Western Ukraine and Northern Bukovina 1939-1940)
Green - Present from Hrushov, Crimea (1954)
And the subscript: in 2008 Yushenko ordered to destroy monuments of the totalitarian regime

Today's joke:
Obama: We won't acknowledge the results of today's referendum in Crimea
Journalist: What if they vote against joining Russia?
Obama: Then we'll acknowledge the results.

[hdbuck]

NGOs = BS! 

-> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7ASHvWEXbc#t=564

[Nemo1024]

64% of population have already cast their vote in Crimean referendum.

In the meantime Jarosh threatens to destroy the gas pipeline linking Europe to Russia (http://news.rambler.ru/24115137/).

And on the topic of referendums:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2580990/Wealthy-Venice-hold-referendum-breaking-away-Rome-years-propping-Italys-crime-ridden-south.html

[Balthazar]

In the meantime Jarosh threatens to destroy the gas pipeline linking Europe to Russia (http://news.rambler.ru/24115137/).

Oh well, let him try.

P.S. He just made my day... 

[niothor]

In the meantime Jarosh threatens to destroy the gas pipeline linking Europe to Russia (http://news.rambler.ru/24115137/).

Oh well, let him try.

P.S. He just made my day... 

Or better not . It's still cold at night here.

[Balthazar]

I don't think that there is something more than FUD behind these words... Because the only thing he capable to do is shooting to unarmed people.  

[rmines]

Do you guys think Putin has the guts to start invading the eastern border of Ukraine? Possibly heading to Kiev?

[Balthazar]

Of course he has, but he will wait for a support by the local authorities. Because it has no sense without having a centralized and strong opposition in the eastern territories... If you wish to create a stable republic, not some sort of another Iraq.

By authorities I mean structures like Crimean parliament and government. Currently there are a lot of people against the coup but they have no leadership. It seems that some sort of strong opposition forces will be formed in the future, but it's a matter of months.

[lost7]

Russia's economy will collapse, byebye o/

[rmines]

I don't think so..
There aren't the slightest indications of a boycott of their gas supplies to the EU to give one example.

[Balthazar]

Two hours before the end of voting...

http://www.interfax.ru/ftproot/textphotos/2014/03/16/ref8_600.jpg
http://www.interfax.ru/ftproot/textphotos/2014/03/16/ref1_600.jpg
http://www.interfax.ru/ftproot/textphotos/2014/03/16/ref9_600.jpg

Exit poll results will be available right after the closing of voting stations.  

[Nemo1024]

Do you guys think Putin has the guts to start invading the eastern border of Ukraine? Possibly heading to Kiev?

In my understanding Russia's agenda (current military doctrine) does not include invading anything. Besides, why invade, when certain regions will be joining of their own free will? The only use the demonstration of military power on the Russian borders has, is to show NATO (US) that if they try to invade, that will not go down unanswered.

[myself]

Do you guys think Putin has the guts to start invading the eastern border of Ukraine? Possibly heading to Kiev?

imo will take back what Lenin and Stalin did give to the Ukrainian soviet republic on administration

[Balthazar]

Lenin was an author of Ukrainian SSR project. For this reason it amuses me when "patriotically" minded ukrainian Nazis are trying to demolish the statue of Lenin. As ridiculous as if patriotically minded American wanted to destroy the George Washington monument.

[myself]

i bet now on the blue part

Ukraine never existed like country whit this borders it was a abomination like Yugoslavia I don't know if Hungarians and Romanians want and can ask for some land that was taken away from them

Romanians should make a deal whit Russia to settle transnistria problem get Moldova to join Romania and then make the 1919 "big Romania"

[Balthazar]

https://twitter.com/BBCDanielS (BBC reporter)

https://twitter.com/sergyaksenov (Crimean prime minister)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKzXuYxijVw (live camera for periodical announcements)

http://img.rt.com/files/news/23/b0/e0/00/observers_480p.mp4?event=download

http://rt.com/news/international-observers-crimea-referendum-190/

<...>

No violations at the Crimea referendum have been reported by the international observers currently present in the republic.

“It’s all quiet so far,” Mateus Psikorkski, the leader of the European observers’ mission and Polish MP told Itar-Tass. “Our observers have not registered any violations of voting rules.”

Another observer, Ewald Stadler, member of the European Parliament, dispelled the “referendum at gunpoint” myth, by saying he felt people were free to make their choice.

“I haven’t seen anything even resembling pressure,” he said. “People themselves want to have their say.”

Many were impressed by the turnout, which appeared to be so high as to have people stand in lines to get to the ballot box in the morning. The turnout for the referendum in Crimea at 17.00 local time (15.00 GMT) was 70 per cent, the referendum’s website said.

"The lines are very long, the turnout is big indeed,” a member of the international observer mission, Bulgarian parliament member Pavel Chernev, said. "Organization and procedures are 100 percent in line with the European standards," he added.

135 international observers have arrived from 23 countries, including Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia and Poland, Crimean authorities said. Among those monitoring the referendum are members of the EU and national European parliaments, international law experts and human rights activists.

<...>

Hours before the referendum started, RT managed to speak to some of those who decided to see for themselves, who’s ballots were going to be cast.

Quite contrary to the mainstream official approach taken by the EU and the US, most of them said they believed the referendum in Crimea was legitimate.

“The US and also the EU, they only respect international law, if it’s in favor of their opinion,” Johann Gudenus, member of the city parliament of Vienna, said. “Our opinion is – if people want to decide their future, they should have the right to do that and the international community should respect that. There is a goal of people in Crimea to vote about their own future. Of course, Kiev is not happy about that, but still they have to accept and to respect the vote of people in Crimea”.

Johannes Hübner, an Austrian MP said he felt he had to come to Crimea to get the real picture of what was happening on the peninsula.

“The view we get from the American and European media is very distorted,” he said. “You get no objective information. So we decided to come here to have a look at what’s really going on and see if this referendum is credible”.

Aymeric Chauprade political scientist and geopolitician from France believes the referendum is justified by Russian and Ukrainian history.

“Yes, I think the referendum is legitimate,” he said. “We are talking about long-term history. We are talking about the Russian people, about the territories of the former USSR with artificial borders. So, I think it’s a legitimate referendum that will give opportunity for this Russian population’s reunification with Russia”.

Tatjana Ždanoka, European parliament MP, representing Latvia, says the fact that the EU and the US refuse to see the referendum as legitimate can only be explained by double standard applied by Western leaders to the situation.

“The European parliament’s resolution demands that Crimeans comply with the Ukrainian constitution and says that the referendum is against that constitution. But that’s the same as to demand Kosovars to comply with the constitution of the former Yugoslavia, which naturally never happened. Double standards are everywhere in global politics. We know it from history. We see it now”.

<...>

The foreign affairs editor from Chronicles Magazine, Srdja Trifkovic, who is also an observer at the Crimean referendum has told RT that he drove from Simferopol to Yalta on Saturday and back and he “didn’t see a single barrel (of a gun) unless you count two speed traps, one on the way out and one on the way back where policemen had guns.”

“The presence of troops on the streets is virtually non-existent and the only thing resembling any such thing is the unarmed middle-aged Cossacks who are positioned outside the parliament building in Simferopol. But if you look at the people both at the voting stations and in the streets, like on Yalta’s sea front yesterday afternoon, frankly I think you would feel more tense in south Chicago or in New York’s Harlem than anywhere round here,” he said.

Trifkovic added that in regard to referendums the western powers function on the basis of situational morality and “not on any firm principle.”

“In 1991 Croatia and Slovenia held illegal referenda to secede from Yugoslavia and by the end of that year the European Union recognized them as independent states. In February of 1992 Bosnia Herzegovina held a referendum in violation of its own constitution and yet in April of that year the US rushed to recognize Bosnia, which still remains an incoherent semi state as we know. And the succession of Kosovo from Serbia has been enthusiastically supported by the United States and its west European partners. And the right to self-determination was upheld ahead of the right of a state to territorial integrity. Well, what is source for the Kosovan goose will certainly prove to be the sauce for the Crimean gander but the United States and Brussels are yet to come to terms with it.”

[niothor]

i bet now on the blue part

Ukraine never existed like country whit this borders it was a abomination like Yugoslavia I don't know if Hungarians and Romanians want and can ask for some land that was taken away from them

Romanians should make a deal whit Russia to settle transnistria problem get Moldova to join Romania and then make the 1919 "big Romania"

This will send us to the stone age.
Of course it's our dream but , not now. Uniting with Moldova with our and their economy would mean a disaster.

Besides on that map there is a portion of Bulgaria too , but it's missing a part of Hungary that was supposed to be annexed after ww1 and the valley of Timok in Serbia.

[Nemo1024]

I am really glad that Western observers in the parliamentarian league were present and that nothing negative can be reported. I am also glad that local authorities managed to prevent any attempts at sabotage, so that voting was conducted in a peaceful fashion.

A small digression, with regard to the historic growth of the map of Ukraine. Just like Belorussia means "White Russia" (some explain it as pure Russians, undiluted by Tatar-Mongol invasion), so does the word "Ukraine" (Укpaинa) have a meaning - "on the outskirts", "at the border", "at the edge", referring to the geographic position of the region relative to Russia.

[Balthazar]

I am really glad that Western observers in the parliamentarian league were present and that nothing negative can be reported. I am also glad that local authorities managed to prevent any attempts at sabotage, so that voting was conducted in a peaceful fashion.

Observer from Austria just reported that he got some phone calls from home... And his friends said him something which had no relation with the reality. Everything seems as usual...

Live cameras here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKzXuYxijVw