It is necessary to speculate on the location of President Putin. It is the understanding he has been with his long time companion while giving birth to their third child. I hope the baby and mother are doing well.
Sunday, March 15, 2015
By Adam Withnall
Amid ongoing Russian media speculation that the President was watching the Crimea documentary from his sickbed, Mr Putin’s full interview with Rossiya One provided new insight into his country’s involvement in the annexation of the Black Sea peninsula.
In the documentary, which marks a year since the referendum that saw Russia take control of Crimea, Mr Putin described the Ukrainian revolution to oust Viktor Yanukovych in February 2014 as an armed coup “masterminded by our American friends”....
This is the problem. The global community runs on economic vitality. When a country the size of Russia withdraws areas of the world from economic vitality from the entire community. Whether people live with a government that is a democracy, communism, a theocracy or socialism they still need a way to produce a livelihood.
IMFEROPOL, Crimea — The McDonald's in the coastal city of Yalta (click here) used to be one of the busiest restaurants on the waterfront. It now stands closed "due to circumstances beyond our control," according to a chewed-up note on the door. While the Golden Arches stay dark, Russian flags top nearby buildings.
Sunday, March 15, 2015
By Adam Withnall
Amid ongoing Russian media speculation that the President was watching the Crimea documentary from his sickbed, Mr Putin’s full interview with Rossiya One provided new insight into his country’s involvement in the annexation of the Black Sea peninsula.
In the documentary, which marks a year since the referendum that saw Russia take control of Crimea, Mr Putin described the Ukrainian revolution to oust Viktor Yanukovych in February 2014 as an armed coup “masterminded by our American friends”....
This is the problem. The global community runs on economic vitality. When a country the size of Russia withdraws areas of the world from economic vitality from the entire community. Whether people live with a government that is a democracy, communism, a theocracy or socialism they still need a way to produce a livelihood.
IMFEROPOL, Crimea — The McDonald's in the coastal city of Yalta (click here) used to be one of the busiest restaurants on the waterfront. It now stands closed "due to circumstances beyond our control," according to a chewed-up note on the door. While the Golden Arches stay dark, Russian flags top nearby buildings.
Celebrations took take
place in Crimea on Monday to celebrate the one-year anniversary of a
disputed referendum to join Russia after Moscow's military entered the
Ukrainian peninsula. But the festivities in the peninsula's capital of
Simferopol did little to hide the isolation that has resulted from the
controversial annexation and international sanctions which followed.
McDonald's was not the
only international company to withdraw from Crimea: many others
followed, including PayPal, Amazon, and even Russian banks.
Once a thriving resort
zone, Crimea now stands separated from the rest of the world:
international cell phones do not work, and neither do credit cards....
This economic strife is not alone in the possessions of Russia. Abkhazia and South Ossetia are struggling, too.
Quality of life is important for the happiness of people and an optimistic view of the world encompassing not only economies, but, also the achievement of peace.
Some of the down turn in Crimea is not unusual until the region stabilizes and it develops a new clientele. But, the other possessions of Russia should have been rehabilitated by now and showing an increase in quality of life.
The answer to Abkhazia by Russia is to establish a military presence as a method to develop an economy.
2010 (click here) - Moscow deploys S-300 anti-aircraft missiles in Abkhazia after a visit by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
After the 2008 conflict, (click here) Moscow declared that it would formally recognise the independence of both South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Russia's allies Nicaragua and Venezuela followed suit, as did a number of small Pacific island states.
In October 2008, Russia pulled its troops back to the Abkhaz-Georgian border, but stationed a large force in the breakaway republic, with the agreement of the Abkhaz government.
The next year, Moscow also vetoed an extension of the UN peacekeeping mission, and signed a five-year agreement with Abkhazia to take formal control of its frontiers with Georgia proper....
There isn't going to be a return to the Western economy that helped bring an economy to this region.
August 15, 2013
...South Ossetia, (click here) by contrast, remains totally dependent on Russian subsidies to rebuild infrastructure and industrial capacity destroyed during the August 2008 war with Georgia. That dependence has fueled an ongoing debate as to whether the Republic of South Ossetia should join the Russian Federation, whether as a separate federation subject or through unification with the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania....
The answer to Abkhazia by Russia is to establish a military presence as a method to develop an economy.
After the 2008 conflict, (click here) Moscow declared that it would formally recognise the independence of both South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Russia's allies Nicaragua and Venezuela followed suit, as did a number of small Pacific island states.
In October 2008, Russia pulled its troops back to the Abkhaz-Georgian border, but stationed a large force in the breakaway republic, with the agreement of the Abkhaz government.
The next year, Moscow also vetoed an extension of the UN peacekeeping mission, and signed a five-year agreement with Abkhazia to take formal control of its frontiers with Georgia proper....
There isn't going to be a return to the Western economy that helped bring an economy to this region.
August 15, 2013
...South Ossetia, (click here) by contrast, remains totally dependent on Russian subsidies to rebuild infrastructure and industrial capacity destroyed during the August 2008 war with Georgia. That dependence has fueled an ongoing debate as to whether the Republic of South Ossetia should join the Russian Federation, whether as a separate federation subject or through unification with the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania....
