Putin Says Russia Regained 'Historic Roots' In Crimea

[Purveyor]

Source: Associated Press

MOSCOW (AP) - Speaking to tens of thousands of supporters just outside the Kremlin walls, President Vladimir Putin has described Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula as a move to protect ethnic Russians and regain the nation's "historic roots."

Addressing Wednesday's rally marking the anniversary of the annexation, Putin said Crimea lies at the "roots of our spirituality and statehood."

Crimea's annexation and the subsequent Moscow-backed rebellion in eastern Ukraine prompted the West to impose economic and financial sanctions on Russia. Along with slumping oil prices, they have driven the Russian economy into a recession this year.

But despite the economic downturn and a sharp devaluation of the ruble, Putin's popularity has remained strong at more than 80 percent. He told the rally that Russia would overcome the "difficulties created from the outside."

Read more: http://www.12newsnow.com/story/28552111/putin-says-russia-regained-historic-roots-in-crimea

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Crimea Celebrates One Year of Its Reunification with Russia

On March 16, 2014, 96 percent of Crimeans voted in favor of the accession to Russia. Thousands of Crimeans poured into the streets of the capital Simferopol and the city of Sevastopol Wednesday as they celebrated with fireworks and parties the first year since the region overwhelmingly voted to reunite with Russia, whose president, Vladimir Putin, is scheduled to give speech.

On March 16, 2014, over 96 percent of Crimeans voted against continuing as part of Ukrainian territory and in favor of joining Russia.

Russia’s Parliament, the Duma, considered the accession of Crimea to Russia to be legal, but the Ukraine and the West nonetheless rejected it.

On March 18, 2014, Putin assured, “Crimea has always been a part of Russia,” the United States put into place a series of sanctions – which until recently have been steadily augmented – with which it wants to “punish” the Russian Federation for having accepted the will of the majority of Crimeans.

Putin’s speech last year highlighted that, “More than 82 percent of the electorate took part in the vote. Over 96 percent of them spoke out in favor of reuniting with Russia. These numbers speak for themselves."

In that speech, Putin also highlighted the shared ethnic and cultural ties between Crimea and Russia. At least 60 percent of the population of Crimea is Russian, 25 percent is Ukrainian, and 12 percent is Tartar.

"Crimea is a unique blend of different peoples’ cultures and traditions. This makes it similar to Russia as a whole, where not a single ethnic group has been lost over the centuries," Putin said, according to Russian government’s official website. ​

During his comments last year, President Putin went on to criticize the NATO's presence along the Russian-Ukrainian border.

"But let me say too that we are not opposed to cooperation with NATO, for this is certainly not the case,” said the Russian president. “For all the internal processes within the organization, NATO remains a military alliance, and we are against having a military alliance making itself at home right in our backyard or in our historic territory."

After Crimea’s referendum a year ago, Putin began expressing his government’s will to negotiate peace for Ukraine.

“We want to be friends with Ukraine and we want Ukraine to be a strong, sovereign and self-sufficient country. Ukraine is one of our biggest partners after all,” said Putin. “We have many joint projects and I believe in their success no matter what the current difficulties.” ​Leading up to Putin’s public address, festivities had been taking place since the weekend throughout the country, including in Crimea where people were given a day off from work to celebrate with concerts and firework displays.

This content was originally published by teleSUR at the following address:
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Crimea-Celebrates-One-Year-of-Its-Reunification-to-Russia---20150318-0008.html. If you intend to use it, please cite the source and provide a link to the original article. www.teleSURtv.net/english

[uhnope]

1. Tatar activists being "disappeared", free media harassed

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017251913
Fuck Putin & the "pathetic dupes" who support his fascism & warmaking

[MBS]

5. thanks for reminder about the Tatars

They've been there hundreds of years longer than the Russians, and once again, they're being screwed.

[happyslug]

12. Yet Russia is spending more money on the Tartars then Kiev ever did

“In the incomplete year of 2014, Russia spent as much as Ukraine did in the previous seven years on issues of housing and support for Crimean Tatars,” said Smirnov, who heads the region’s committee on inter-ethnic relations.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/17/crimean-tatars-divided-between-russian-and-ukrainian-promises

And Tartarts are in the Government of the Crimea:

Yet there are some Crimean Tatars who say they support the Russian annexation, such as the Deputy Prime Minister of Crimea, Ruslan Balbek.

Balbek said: “Crimean Tatars are not dreaming about returning to Ukraine. They don’t remember [leaders] Mustafa Dzhemilev and Refat Chubarov. They just want to get on with their lives. Since Crimea has been a part of Ukraine, their areas haven’t received electricity or roads — not even a basic standard of living.”

http://www.euronews.com/2015/03/17/crimea-s-tatars-yearn-for-homeland-one-year-after-russian-annexation/

This may be a "Carrot and Stick" policy, i.e. carrots for those Tartars that accept Russian Rule and a stick for those that do not, but it also shows Russia is more concerned about opposition to its RULE as oppose to just being Anti-Tatar. Does the US permit the existence of VIOLENT groups that support an independent Puerto Rico to exist? The answer is NO, the same with every other country. Peaceful groups that oppose rule by the Government that controls that Country are permitted, but violent groups are watched.

Thus the real question is are these peaceful or violent opposition groups? I have NOT heard or read of any acts of Violence but Russia may just want to be careful. No mass arrests have occurred, but some kidnappings have, but no one knows by whom or why. May be a cover up, or just may be something else. Till we have SOLID evidence to assume that Tartars are being set up to be harnessed is huge step to take, a step, if taken should be taken with care. The problem is we have people taking such a step, without any care for it fits their belief that Putin and Russia are the source of all evil in the world. Putin is NOT an innocent baby, but he is also NOT the devil incarnate. These stories seems to be just that stories.

[Xithras]

13. That's because, in spite of the rhetoric, Russia isn't actually anti-Tatar

We tend to look at Russia as one nation, but internally it's divided up just like we are. They have their "federal subjects" (the equivalent of our "states&quot , and they also have a number of republics. Russian republics work just like Puerto Rico and Guam do in the U.S., they have their own independent governments, laws, and constitutions, but they are ultimately subject to U.S. law and authority.

One of the larger federal republics in Russia is Tatarstan. You probably won't have to guess too hard to figure out how it got that name and who lives there. Tatars are the majority, and Tatar is the most widely spoken language there.

In fact, Tatar is the second most widely spoken language in all of Russia, after Russian itself...and the Tatars are the second largest population group in Russia, second only to the ethnic Russians themselves. The Tatars are fairly well integrated into Russian society and can be found all over the country. From supermodels to business people, they are simply part of the Russian population. They ARE generally Russified; they consider themselves "Tatar-Russians" the same way some in the U.S. identify themselves as Mexican-Americans...they are culturally Tatar, while nationally Russian.

And that's why many of the fears of a Crimean Tatar genocide or ethnic cleansing are misplaced. While Putin is being heavy handed with asserting Russian authority, he can't get too overtly brutal with the Crimean Tatars without risking blowback from the rest of the Tatar population throughout Russia. The last thing Putin wants is millions of pissed off Russian Tatars deciding to defend their Crimean cousins.

[newthinking]

17. It doesn't take much work or intellect to learn the truth of these matters outside the narrative

Yet I see our resident cold warrior continues to post "half facts", despite being corrected multiple times.

While I am not in favor of the heavy handed approach to Jihad based Muslims (lack of process both here and apparently in Russia), there was a fundamentalist group of tatars that were communicating with Al-Qaida and had called a "Jihad" on Russia last year.

Those that disappeared are likely the Russian equivalent of our Guantanamo prisoners. Russia also has something we do not, which is a rehabilitation program for fanatics (that do not actually kill anyone), where they can come back into society if they reject their former associations and after a period of several years of parole can reintegrate into society.

But hey, getting deeper does not feed hate and hysteria so well.

[MrNJ]

2. OK Why am I thinking about Austria and 1938

This will end the same.
Cyanide pill and lead injection. And millions dead.

[dembotoz]

3. does alaska have historic roots?

[albino65]

4. Modern day Stalin n/t

[pampango]

6. Ethnic Germans in Austria and Czechoslovakia were 'reunited' with the Motherland in 1938 as well.

A strong military and a willingness to use it can accomplish 'wonders' even if you don't fight a full-scale war.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

7. The Russian Federation never had a historical claim to Crimea.

Since nearly its inception, the Russian Federation had recognized via treaty that Crimea was Ukrainian territory. That all changed last February when Russia violated that treaty.

Someone should explain to Vladimir that the Russian Federation is not the Soviet Union nor the Russian Empire.

[Comrade Grumpy]

11. Tell it to the Crimeans.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

14. That doesn't make the "historical roots" argument any less BS.

The Russian Federation dates back to 1991.

The Soviet Union and Russian Empire, to which Putin claims historical authority, are in fact long dead imperialistic nations.

Crimea never belonged to Putin's Russia.

[Comrade Grumpy]

16. Tell it to the Crimeans.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

18. You know that doesn't excuse the forceable seizure of Crimea by the Russian military, right? nt

[Igel]

8. Because, no doubt, for Putin

the Crimea is where his Redeemer walked, where his church was founded, and where Ivan the Terrible, who threw off the Mongol Yoke, had his administrative center in setting up the Russian state.

Or perhaps he just will have the textbooks rewritten to remove Kiev, Novogorod, and Moscow from the picture as he tries to build a Greater Russo-centric State, built on ethnic solidarity, cultural renaissance and renewal, and military power.

All in the interests of Democracy (tm), of course.

[Jefferson23]

9. Proud owner of annexing Crimea....bastard. n/t

[Blue_Tires]

10. As far as Putin is concerned, there are no "Ukrainians"

only "Russians who don't know it yet"....

[Adrahil]

15. +1

[geek tragedy]

19. .