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Estonia Next? Russia "Signals Concern" For Its Citizens In The Baltic Republic
Amid the growing Crimea crisis, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - which like Ukraine were all parts of the old Soviet Union and have very significant concentrations of ethnic Russian-speaking citizens - have expressed growing apprehension over Moscow's intentions. As Reuters reports, Russia signaled concern on Wednesday at Estonia's treatment of its large ethnic Russian minority, comparing language policy in the Baltic state with what it said was a call in Ukraine to prevent the use of Russian. "Language should not be used to segregate and isolate groups," the envoy noted, referencing the same 'linguistic tensions' that supported its annexation of Crimea.
Russia signaled concern on Wednesday at Estonia's treatment of its large ethnic Russian minority, comparing language policy in the Baltic state with what it said was a call in Ukraine to prevent the use of Russian.
...
"Language should not be used to segregate and isolate groups," the diplomat was reported as saying. Russia was "concerned by steps taken in this regard in Estonia as well as in Ukraine," the Moscow envoy was said to have added.
...
Russia has defended its annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula by arguing it has the right to protect Russian-speakers outside its borders, so the reference to linguistic tensions in another former Soviet republic comes at a highly sensitive moment.
Russia fully supported the protection of the rights of linguistic minorities, a Moscow diplomat told the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, according to a summary of the session issued by the U.N.'s information department.
Making all the Russian border nations nervous
Amid the growing Crimea crisis, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - which like Ukraine were all parts of the old Soviet Union - have expressed growing apprehension over Moscow's intentions.
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is currently in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius as part of a trip to reassure the three countries, all European Union and NATO members, of Washington's support.
But, the market knows best and stock took Putin at his word that he was done with taking Crimea... or are markets "wrong" and merely an illusory peak at the marginal flow of carry slooshing around the globe?
It is perhaps not entirely surprising that Estonia would be "next" since the concentration of ethic Russians there is the highest of all the former Soviet Republics...
As NPR adds, it's not just The Batics that are worried...
EU Borderlands
In the region roughly southeast of the Baltic states that includes Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova, all three have sizable ethnic Russian populations.
Belarus, with about 8 percent of its population Russian, enjoys warm relations with Moscow and has signed on (along with Kazakhstan) to join Russia's "Eurasian Union" trade bloc that The Guardian says Putin hopes will grow into a " 'powerful, supra-national union' of sovereign states like the European Union."
Meanwhile, Moldova's smaller Russian population (about 6 percent) is concentrated in Transnistria, an autonomous region that is trying to separate from the rest of the country. The analogy with Ukraine and Crimea couldn't be more stark, suggests The International Business Times.
Some 2,000 of the Kremlin's troops are enforcing a cease-fire in Transnistria between Russian separatists and the Moldovan government. Although the region borders Ukraine and not Russia, given the instability in Kiev and Transnistria's proximity to Crimea and the Black Sea coast, Moldova eyes it warily.
What's more, since the Crimean crisis broke out, Transnistria's local Parliament has asked Moscow to grant the breakaway region Russian citizenship and admission to the Russian Federation.
The Baltic States
Latvia and Estonia have significant ethnic Russian populations. About 27 percent of Latvia's 2 million people are Russian, as are about a quarter of Estonia's 1.3 million. According to The Telegraph, the Russians in Latvia migrated there during Soviet rule when they were able to occupy the top rungs of civil and political society.
"But ever since communism's collapse, the boot has been firmly on the other foot. Latvian, not Russian, is the official language, and the country is now one of NATO's newest — and keenest — members, along with fellow Baltic states Lithuania and Estonia," the newspaper writes.
According to Reuters, Latvia and Estonia in particular "are alarmed by [Putin's] justification for Russian actions in and around Ukraine as protection for Russian speakers there.
"While all three Baltic republics have joined NATO — and Lithuania next year should be the last of the three to adopt the euro — these small countries are largely dependent on energy from Russia and have strong trade ties," Reuters writes.
"Last weekend, as pro-Russian forces were surrounding Crimea, Moscow's ambassador to [Latvia] caused further unease by saying that the Kremlin was planning to offer passports and pensions to ethnic Russians in Latvia to 'save them from poverty,' " The Telegraph says.
Central Asia
Kazakhstan, with just under a third of its population ethnic Russia, is one of the Kremlin's key allies. The BBC says it's "Moscow's strategic partner and the two countries regularly hold joint military exercises. They have close trade links as both are trying to develop a common market." The relationship, it says, is comparable to the one enjoyed between the U.S. and the U.K.
"But Russia's military action in Crimea has created unease among Kazakhs. They are worried that a 'Ukrainian scenario' could also apply to this Central Asian nation," the BBC says.
Kazakhstan's northern Kostanay region is about half ethnic Russian, and in other regions, especially to the east, "there are fewer ethnic Kazakhs than ethnic Russians," according to The Washington Post.
On Monday, Kazakhstan's pro-Russian President Nursultan Nazarbayev was said to "understand" Russia's position vis-a-vis Crimea, according to Reuters, "which struck many as a very carefully worded way of phrasing it," according to the Post.
Kyrgyzstan, with about a 12 percent ethnic Russian population, also has a Kremlin-leaning president, Almazbek Atambayev. But the country has carefully balanced East and West until now, allowing both a Russian military base and a U.S. air base on its soil. That is set to change, however.
While the Caucasus is home to only small minorities of ethnic Russians, it's a region that has suffered from the Kremlin's attentions. Chechnya has been the locus of a brutal separatist conflict with Moscow. Georgia saw its South Ossetia region cleaved by Russia's 2008 incursion.
In 1992-93, the breakaway Abkhazia region of Georgia also underwent a civil war in which ethnically Georgian militias, supported by the Georgian state, were pitted against "ethnically Abkhazian militias supported both by North Caucasus militants ... from Russia and by the Russian state itself, which provided weapons and training to the fighters and carried out airstrikes against ethnic Georgian targets."
It's clear too that the Crimea situation has raised concerns in Azerbaijan.
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Brighton Beach baby, here we come.
Don't see anything to stop them.
We've used every community organizer trick in the book.....still nothing.
Slight difference in that Estonia is already a member of NATO and is bound by mutual defense treaties that Ukraine and other ex-Soviet states are not
Yes, absolutely, you beat me to that sentiment. If Putin really wants to play high stakes "Russian Roulette", the Baltic States are the way to go. Fortunately, Obama will probably go and play Golf somewhere so we are all safe??
Incidentally, Lavrov is such a class act. Especially compared to Kerry?
Just cheap agitation propaganda for the sheeple...the world leaders understand why Putin reclaimed Crimea, to protect their most important naval base in their entire fleet, in response to an American led coup in Kiev.
"If it's Tuesday, we must be annexing Belgium." - Vladimir Putin
Tyler playing the neo-con anti-Russian propaganda drum is getting ever more annoying by the day...
The internet is a big place bro. I hope you find a home.
Putin would be well advised not to start stirring trouble within the borders of a Nato member, because that's an entirely different ball game. He is not thát powerful and apart from its energy resources, Russia does not have many economic aces up its sleeve. Bear in mind that this is a two trillion dollar economy for a population of about 145 million souls. That's not what I call impressive, especially when you take the energy export out of the equation.
Each former super power still has it's own backyard, and the Crimea was clearly part of his playfield. Estonia isn't any more, Russian minority or not. Maybe the POTUS and the EU are weak and indecisive, but that might change very, very quickly if Putin overplays his hand.
Yes about 43 countries would be obliged to defend them
Coalition of the "oh shit did we really sign on to that one"...?
28, and I don't think Albania scares anybody
Look what a minority of neo nazis did in Ukraine, if Putin arms the ethnic Russian, 25% of the population angry and with AKs can do a lot of damage, and NATO does not include coming into a country and defending it from a interior conflict LOL
Russia should be careful that the US does not keep inflating their ego at this point, to the point of getting "suckered" to roll into Estonia.
That would give the US and NATO all the PRETEXT they need to start the hot war they desperately want.
Russia just needs to consolidate its position, "play defensive hockey", and wait for the UST sales to Belgium to turn into a blatant and open farce, for the world to see. Note also that it is NOT a coincidence that China has been sidelined with its financial problems. This is Russia vs the NWO at this point. If they tread very carefully, they will be ok.
"Russia should be careful that the US does not keep inflating their ego"
Serious stuff here: https://tinyurl.com/l9eux7b
I think Kirk that Putin thinks along the same lines, he is just rattling the saber, forcing NATO to have to focus on several areas rather than just Ukraine.
Not to worry, The Administration has just begun to employ Joey and his new, gravelly voiced gravitas personified. I personally sleep better knowing Joey and ACORN are on it.
not to neglect the ethnic russians in poland
Has anyone tried started a petition to get Crimea back? Is there an international "We The People" thing our fearless leaders could all sign?
'linguistic tensions'
Are russians unable to learn a second language?
Give them all a Rosetta Stone course.
Citizens of empires don't speak any other language. Soviet Union doesn't exist anymore but the memory is still vivid enough to not to accept it.
Moscow signals concern for Russians in New York City
Russia signaled concern on Wednesday at New York City's treatment of its large ethnic Russian minority, comparing language policy in the city with what it said was a call in Ukraine to prevent the use of Russian.
New York City residents, meanwhile, expressed hope that they would be rescued from the evils of capitalism by a Russian takeover.
The Russians are protesting that they have to learn Spanish to get work anywhere.
How long before the Mexican government masses its forces to invade the American Southwest? Oh, wait, they already did, mostly without guns.
Meanwhile, NYC residents have already been rescued from the evils of capitalixm by electing a commie mayor.
Is it just me, or is the whole world going crazy?
Me too.
I'm a threat to NATO and freedom and democracy too!
Faking Ruskies
First! GET IN THERE!
5TH FS
Completely "unforeseen" - /s
Let me be clear; people define boarders, not the other way around...
(note: the corporate owners still "win" either way)
Well now, that's it! Amass 500,000 troops and load the pallets with 100 dollar bills. It's time for some GDP boosting. If a few thousand brave American boys die for the cause, it's all in the name of freedom.
Stay the fuck out of it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And now for a new surge of separatist violence in the Caucus region.
I think the people in that region are still licking their wounds and grieving from all the strife from the past few centuries. They know how traumatic conflict can be, I would say they are the most averse to it right now, I think they just want to rebuild and enjoy some normalcy for a change.
We can't be bothered with this right now. Obama just turned in his NCAA picks and we need to find out who he is picking to go all the way.
And have a Faking Tee
Putin is turning in his picks too just like Pres...He's picked Dontesk, Kharkiv, Moldova & Estonia.
But these countries has been occupied by the Soviet Union for 70 years, and then the situation was the opposit...... they might just give back some...
The strategy will be to financially collapse Russia.
Barry is a useless piece of shit, but the days of conventional war are long gone.
Putin is a scum sucking communist pig and he can have all that he can afford - which is very little.
Get the fucking Orville Redenbacher - not for this bullshit, but for the pending financial collapse in China - more interesting.
The strategy will be to financially collapse Russia.
Right after the US of course.
Please The Soviet Union already collapsed. It's time for some "unions" in the west to collapse...
Ummm.....about that.
http://www.amazon.com/Disinformation-Secret-Strategy-Destroy-West/dp/1936488051/ref=sr_1_wsc3?ie=UTF8&qid=1395321742&sr=8-3-wordsplitter&keywords=Disinformation%E2%80%99
The financial destabilization strategy is global.
Unified currency control and centralized governance is coming quite soon with Brussels or something like it federating control over nation states like DC controls NY, TN, UT etc.
First though, we need economic collapses and wars so most folks will cry for order at any price.
"Putin is a scum sucking communist pig..."
Note to self: Never give any credence to any comment Rising Sun posts.
When will Russian become concerned about the safety of its countrymen that own luxury condos in Manhattan and London?
If they sign up to liberating the Hamptons of banksters and billionaire shitheads, count me in.
now that is a beachhead I'd like to see retaken.
I can hear it now: The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!
Putin is eyeballing the high concentration of Russian speakers in Belgravia. If they vote to secede from the UK then Putin is ready to annex them as part of Russia. Cameron sees this coming and threatens to unlike Vlad's Facebook page. Boris says as long as the Russian border gaurds arrive by bicycle all is OK. Obama was fighting his balls on the 17th and was unable to comment.
But does Putin want to create a situation where he is forced to negotiate with the Labour party after they win the next UK election? He's probably thinking twice about having to deal with those crazy Marxist goons.
The Baltic countries have been pretty rough on the Russian descendants living
within their borders since the fall of the USSR. Instead of integrating them they have isolated,
and treated them in an apartied sort of way.Latvia ,and Lithuania in particular.
Looks like its going to bite them in the ass.
Sounds to me like your blaming the victims of the former and soon to be again empire.
We all need to be inclusive of our neighbors who speak different languages. That's why those assembly instructions for that Home Depot gizmo I just bought are written in Spanish as well as English, so Mexico won't get mad and invade us.
Indian schools.
AND, they squeeze the Spanish (and other languages) into the same label space so the font is so small that none of us can read it in any language. Grrrr.
This situation is different those are not Native Lithuanian Russians they are the remnants of the Soviet Occupation, I say if Putin is willing to give them Russian citizenship and a pension than he shoul go all in and Repatriate them to Russia. Russkies Out!
save for kalinigrad.
cynical to use expat russians as pretext.
unlike crimea, these "facts on the ground" were seeded
by soviet invasions and forced migrations.
what's the limit of revisionism vs posterity?
should sweden claim St Petersburg?
but in the end realpolitik wins.
might is right.
God I love Putin.
Putin gettin' da gettin' while da gettin'z good.
And in other news, POSident Oblowhard promises to issue a sternly worded Post-It note to Putin after he gets done with the back 9.
he knows he has a 3 year window before the US goes full hawk after the 2014 and 2016 elections... and, unlike our group of duly-elected brain-scratchers, Putin can act much more quickly with the resources he has at hand
but, life is a marathon not a sprint... this is a very long game and these actions are like tears in a rainstorm
I use to travel to Estonia on business a few years back, 2-3 trips a year for about five years, granted this was back in late 98-2003, but back then the Estonians we did business with had a major dislike of the Russians...but they did like Vodka!
Russia falls for the Sudetenland play. Curiouser and curiouser...
Not going to happen, unless Putin completely loses his mind and thinks he can try the same shit in a NATO country (or countries in this case) that he already pulled in Crimea.
What with China's financial issues, don't be surprised to see the Chinese living in eastern Russia asking to annexed to China.
... What is good for the goose is good for the gander...
I'm curious how many variations on this game of russian roulette one can play. At some point, the gun goes off.
Well, the good news is, guns don't kill, so no harm will come of any gun going off.
I doubt China would want to go in with the Russians. There has always been intense prejudice by Russia against anyone from the eastern parts, especially the kazakhs, tajiks, and the siberians.
I doubt China would want to go in with the Russians. There has always been intense prejudice by Russia against anyone from the eastern parts, especially the kazakhs, tajiks, and the siberians.
Sino-Russian relations have never been remotely good - ever - in all of history. They are competitors militarily & economically in reality, despite the meaningless common badge of "communism" they once both proudly shared,
while Mao went ahead and met with Nixon to help plan China's future industrial revolution (with America's full support) and help the U.S. undermine the USSR.
Khruschev fucked that up. They got all, "We do communism the best!" Nixon saw an opportunity and then three decades later they do all of our manufacturing and we buy cheap Wal-Mart crap via scooter with cheeburger soaked fatty digits. 'MERICA!
Mao saw Soviet command & control planning as losing horse compared to western central planning "light."
He agreed to help undermine Soviet power in exchange for long term promise of access to western markets for Chinese exporters (initially Chinese military subsidiaries ironically evolving to produce industrial equipment, materials, etc.).
Papa Bush, former head of CIA, lined up MFN trade status for China some years later (around time of the fall of the Berlin Wall), and Slick Willie signed that trade treaty with extreme enthusiasm.
Germany tries to invade Europe with money and politics. Russia has chosen more traditional way. Anyway history repeats itself most likely with the similiar outcome than 70 years ago.
Merkel: Russia faces more sanctions, G8 suspended
http://news.yahoo.com/merkel-russia-faces-more-sanctions-g8-suspended-08...
I don't have a problem with this, as long as it produces an exodus of beautiful Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian women to my city...
Stock what they need, and they will beat a path to your door when everything collapses. hygiene products and vodka.
Way to keep your eye on the bright side, but they won't be flocking anywhere till you start ordering mail-order brides. Its not like they can afford their own tickets.
Who is our Neville Chamberlain now....???
Who is our Neville Chamberlin now? That's easy... it's Mr. Ed
Belgium?
President Obama: No U.S. Military Action in Ukraine
Source: http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Obama-Military-Action-Russia-Ukrai...
I wonder if Katherine the Great is still adorning Merkels desk?
Oh yes. Her legs are spread akinbo across the desk and Merkel is lapping up the Manna.
Putin can shut down Merkelville tomorrow and she knows it, despite the rhetoric.
Regards.
Hey Putin, there's some Russians in nyc too. :wink wink:
there's a shitload in Brooklyn. Entire neighborhoods are in Russian.
He put them there. Wink, wink. (?)
Regards
This has been planned big in 2008. If true, and the plan is executed, I would urge you all to stack up on diapers since the shit will hit the fan soon. you can do your own research on it. It's there.
See here: http://conspiracy2012.wordpress.com/2014/03/20/obama-begins-the-third-wo...
New government in Ukraine visit the CO of national TV (over shwoing the russian vote om Cremlia) .... forced him to sign his resign..... this is the democracy we in west backs..... it suck´s
http://www.svt.se/nyhetsklipp/kultur/article1910170.svt
"we in west"...? dude it looks like you tripped and fell on your keyboard while trying to catch squirrel and moose for fearless leader... just how "west" are you?
Is Soros in Estonia overthrowing the government? Then you should be fine.
New coalition was signed in today. I'm not kidding. We were supposed to have another PM but he declined the offer literally in the last minute because of some shadowy business 20 years ago when $32 million disappeared to Russia under his watch when he was the chairman of Estonian central bank. Somebody was pressuring him, possibly from Russia as they should have the information about the deal because of course our central bank has lost all the documents and any recollection with it. One just doesn't leave cozy EU parliament seat to come home to be the PM and then have another change of heart. Well at least we don't have a PM who can be blackmailed by Russia or god knows who just because he has blundered millions(another $10 million but it didn't stick in the court).
During the so-called "Shoah" or "Holocaust", despite all German efficiency in mass murder and the Anti-Semitic mayhem of Axis Allies...Estonia was the only nation to be Judenrein.
One must not admire or condemn that state, only comment on it.
Time to smash the Russian bear once and for all!
Enlist then brother. We will give a gun and three squares as you charge into the shit. GOOD LUCK.
Forward!! For the glory of the Republic and the Federal Reserve!
We can call it the Charge of the Light-headed Brigade.
Mother Russia, gathering her chicks to keep them safe.
What Universe are you living in rum runner?
Regards.
I've never trusted Putin; he's "former" KGB, if there is such a thing, and he's presently the muscle/figurehead of the Russian Oligarchs and organized crime. So he's not a man given to daintiness.
But follow the links to the sources listed in this piece. The NPR story mostly regurgitates a BBC piece, which cites unnamed sources. The Reuters piece is a rehash of a UK Telegraph story, which also cites no named sources. The other day while driving around I heard a BBC radio piece on NPR, citing Dr. Timothy Snyder and a few other sources, in which the sources cited each other to make their dire predictions about Putin's ambition to conquer...everything, apparently. Then, it became 3:00 PM, so "All Things Considered" started. The first story after the news wrap-up was an NPR piece, in which they cited the BBC, and Dr. Timothy Snyder, making dire predictions about...well, you probably already know.
When the media start producing stories citing unnamed sources, and then circular references to their own pieces, we're being stampeded in a direction.
I don't trust Putin. I didn't like Saddam, the Taliban, Gadhafi or Assad, either. But I also don't like being bullshitted, and it's getting really deep around here.
Yup. "Unnamed sources" and MSM circle jerks.
Propaganda plain & simple.
Back some time ago when I first discovered Google News Search I set out to see which of the stories I was seeing on the alternative media but not in my local daily or the nightly news were being covered by whom.
At least once a week there was a story that
1) most people of whatever persuasion would agree was news,
2) most would agree was important information
3) most would agree was interesting
4) was widely ignored in the MSM.
One of these stories was completely ignored. Some were headline news all across Europe, but ignored here. Some were picked up by a newspaper here or there or by one local station. Some were carried by Reuters or even on the AP wire but few or no US outlets picked them up.
* Not one was covered by NPR, or by the BBC! *
Take this story and turn it around. This is mouthpiece of the masters of deceit, looking out through their window at the world and seeing their own reflection in it.
You can hardly blame the former KGB agent turned Russian President to not follow through in rebuilding the Soviet Union considering the weak response from the Obama administration and the EU concerning Ukraine. The door is wide open to pull these countries back into Russia's orbit at least up through January 2017. Putin is far more powerful than Obama or the EU. This is good as done.
Maybe this is what Obama meant when he said he could be more flexible after the 2012 election. Maybe he meant he could acquiesce without worrying about losing his office.
The Russian envoy's comments about the language are correct IMHO.
Given the residual numbers of Jews in these old Republics and in Eastern Europe left over from the days of the Khazar empire -- who presumably now have positions of power and influence and have long been attracted to Marxism and Fascicm -- it is ironic that they are now segregating (downgrading) people on grounds of the language they speak. That's little different to what the Nazis did across Europe to the Jews except in that case it was their religion or ethnicity that provided the justification for segregation (downgrading). Is this revenge?
Let's see. 13 years of constant warfare which essentially has thrown trillions down a rat hole where nothing positive has been accomplished. Our military is burned out, stretched out, and being gutted even further.
Putin is a master predator nothing more or less. He sees the obvious multiple weaknesses of the West, and as predators will do he is making his moves.
Unfortunately, we are stuck with Neville Chamberlains in all of the Western countries that are incapable of matching him strategically, and a reprobate narcissistic politically correct culture that puts these people in positions of power.
We really need a George Washington or Andrew Jackson level President at this juncture, but at least we're lucky enough to have the TOTUS. Just think how much worse things would be without him.
The EU and NATO leaders are a bunch of dense wankers. There's an easy and simple solution that de-escalates and spikes Russia's guns all in one, viz:-
Simple, polite and to the point. You're worried about them - you welcome the heroes back. Problem solved.
(Do I REALLY need to put a ./s tag on this?)
And thank you for tipping how they are going to ramrod a shitload of illegal aliens into citizenship in the US next with Mexico and all the other South American countries crying about language discrimination next. Sorry fuck that you live in an area you learn to communicate in the language in the area you reside in if you want to live there as a citizen....
This is nothing more than a way to destroy countries and their values and ideals.
People define borders, borders don't define people. Overload them too quickly that above is what happens.
This problem can be easily solved by outlawing duel country citizenship and replace the idea of a secondary citizenship with a global travel passport that serves the purpose of a secondary passport/citizenship as far as the stateless person problem goes. Countries should allow people in who want to be there but at the same time but at the same time be able seperate out those who do from those who just want to be parasites or plants for outside agendas to undermine any said country.
Well yes, but..
People define people, frequently through manipulation of the facts or law (in the case you refer to). How you are going to deal with that 'illegal problem' is one I don't envy you for.
In Europe, despite plenty of xenophobia, corruption, etc., the ethnicity business wasn't much of a problem until recently when it became a hot topic courtesy of Putin exploiting it.
Nobody cares a whit that I'm a Brit in Belgium. There aren't so many Russians here as there were 10-15 years ago but I got on great with them then. Sure they were Russians, but they were also pretty well integrated probably because we held the similar view that 'if you live in a country - you learn the language of that country' - even if just as a courtesy and you're crap speaking it.
You get better with time.
In the case of your example, with hispanics wanting their own language taught by right and used by right, it's all ass-backwards and you need to get on top of that if you can. Same BS in Britain with Hindi/Punjabi/Urdu/ and even Arabic FFS.
Good luck. You'll need it.
Pogrom
You know what is coming next same shit with Mexico being beligerent to United States with all these assholes egging Mexico on including Obama since he seems to be playing on the other team and I don't mean that because he isn't doing anything about Putin. That is not our sphere of influence let the fucking EU deal with it.
Yin to the west Yang? Russia wants to protect the satellites and circle the wagons protect those former minerals and speakers from the NGO's and the west cant stand any shooting? The west is sensative to sovereign interference when its playing road games and should have been more proactive toward the satellites in the first place? Years of parochial dumbing has confused the public about what is important in the world killing or protecting?
media hate 24/7 on putin, I guess the big banks think he is a risk they can't control - a part of the world no one ever thinks of (certainly our potus never heard of it before now)..is now a big deal? IRS scandal, bengazi,nsa snooping off the front page, oh and the economy is peachy, the msm sees ue and closing retail are signs the upturn is here. wake me up when they find some plane of which I know no one on it, don't care and is not an impact on life here or the EU. wonder why my local news paper has no customers on my street?
Putin is going to keep jerking Obamas and the NeoCons chain as long as they let him.
What's he gonna do....Nuke em? Hahahhahaha
Regards.
Just shut the fuck up would be the smart play. But with NeoCons that will never happen. They love to whine too much.
Gee what do the baltic States ave to fear? It's not like they spent the greatest part of the last two centuries under Russiann ocupation or something. If their minority russian populations feel the need for protection of the motherland the Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians should just put them all on trains and busses headed east and let them off at the border. Wish them "good bye, good luck and don't come back."
NATO's best move would be to make sure the Baltic States have plenty of buses on hand so they can transport all of those ethnics back to Mother Russia. Puti can then embrace his brothers, and maybe he and some of his oligarch buddies can front the prodigal sons and daughters some of their ill gotten rubles to make the transition home easy. Everybody wins. Peace in our time.
Hahaha....Anyone not wanting to live in Russian Crimea can catch those same buses. back to (Whichever) Ukraine.
Black sea was the prize.
I thought you were savvy Chindit13. Now I think you're for the man.
Sadly.
Regards.
"NATO's best move would be to make sure the Baltic States have plenty of buses on hand so they can transport all of those ethnics back to Mother Russia."
That would be Putin's best move, not NATO's. Russia needs more people. Estonia would lose up to a quarter of its population - disaster.
There's about 3 million Russian Americans, too. Maybe Putin can come here to protect them. Speaking of invading other countries, just watched a documentary on Netflix called "Dirty Wars" by journalist Jeremy Scahill. Really good if you haven't seen it.
3 million Russians in USA....How many Americans in Russia?...Oh wait...
Regards.
If Russian-speaking Estonians are being oppressed by the Estonian government, all Putin needs to do is to just invite them to quit whatever they are doing in Estonia and come to Russia to live and work. He might have to offer some kind of incentive such as cash or free land or a buyout of their Estonian property but this would be much less expensive than conflict with the West.
And it would teach the Estonians and the rest of the world a valuable lesson in how to treat Russian people. If all Russian-speaking Estonians quit their jobs en masse, it would create economic havoc in one of the EU’s few bright spots – which would serve them right. Shrug, Russians, just shrug.
Putin's "Russian Peoples" argument - ethnonationalism - sound unsettlingly like the old "Aryan People's" argument.
I think it is propaganda spin to gain and maintain common Russians support for a very dangerous geopolitical move.
I still think it is about a Russian Natural Gas leash to be tied around the EU's neck.
But I suspect Putin's choice of propaganda will backfire by scaring the hell out of his neighbors.
There is no need for Russia or China or even Somalia to interfere with the destruction of the United States of America by Washington D.C. Well not until the D.C. globalists have inflicted terminal damage.
after 40 years of soviet-era 'colonization' by russia, Im sure there are russian speakers all over the former soviet bloc. really the only us/nato/eu could do is stand behind those nations who are formally in nato/eu. ukraine/kazakhstan...not so much. but all that oil and lithium in kazakhstan combined with a corrupt ruling family, that will be a problem--moscow will probably just cut the family in and they will remain in the oligarchy.
Always love how libertarian this site is until something happens in the world, when half of you become as interventionist as anyone around.
Not getting involved in affairs that arent directly threatening to our country means not gettineg involved in affairs that arent directly threatening to our country. It seems pretty simple really. If you don't believe that, then don't pretend to be in favor or ending the empire. if you do believe it, then you should be praising Obamas "weakness". i for one, hope he stays the fuck out of this whole thing. if the Ukrainiians or the Estonians want freedom, they can fight for it. Otherwise, I could give a shit what the Russian bear does as long as he leaves me alone.
I wouldn't be surprised if USA would be the first to turn their back to their allies in eastern europe when things really heat up. Of corse this wouldn't be done because of the noninterventionist policies(LOL) but because of the weakness of your leadership.
Lebensraum