Crimea is Russian again - Get over it

Yawn

• The Crimea is Russian again just like it has been for centuries.  Somehow the sun will come up tomorrow, children will go to school, businesses will open and the world will go on.
• A greater danger is Democrats and Republicans beating their chests for conflict in order to show the voters how "strong" they are for the upcoming November elections.

Bullshit Alert!  -  The U.S. and the EU thought it was fine when the Ukraine succeeded from Russia in 1991, but for some strange reason it is wrong for Crimea to succeed from the Ukraine.

The Kremlin says the Crimea region is now once again a part of Russia.

A signing ceremony Tuesday between Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Prime Minister of Crimea and the mayor of the city of Sevastopol made it official, the Kremlin said in a statement.

Mother Russia
Catherine the Great conquered the Crimea
before the U.S. became a nation.

Crimea and Sevastopol, where the Russian Black Sea fleet is based, are now part of the Russian Federation, it said.

In an hour-long speech, Putin argued that the vote had been entirely legitimate and stressed the historical and cultural ties between Russia and Crimea reports CNN News.

 

"In our hearts we know Crimea has always been an inalienable part of Russia," he said.

Russia's Black Sea fleet is based in the Crimean port city of Sevastopol but the movements of its forces within Crimea are supposed to be agreed upon with Kiev.

Putin, who was greeted by a standing ovation and whose remarks were punctuated by regular and enthusiastic applause, also accused the West of "double standards" and cynicism in its response to the crisis in Crimea, citing Kosovo, which split from Serbia, as an example of a precedent.

 

"It's absolutely in favor of their own interests -- black today, white tomorrow," he said.

The Georgievsky Hall at the Grand Kremlin Palace, where President Putin signed a treaty to make Crimea part of Russia was not a random choice.
.
Kremlin’s five reception halls are named for orders of the Russian Empire: the Orders of St. George, Vladimir, Alexander, Andrew, and Catherine.  The Georgievsky Hall has some “Tsarist” connotations.

It was named by Catherine the Great in 1769 to honor the memory of Saint George, who is believed to “bring victory” to Russia. Putin revived the edict of the Empress in 2000. Saint George was a soldier in the Roman army whose father was from Cappadocia, now part of the modern state of Turkey.

 

'We're coming home!' Crimea celebrates joining Russia

US & EU Secession Hypocrisy

A rally in Moscow in support of Vladimir Putin's stance on Crimea.
Photograph: Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images Europe

A woman holds a flag depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin
and Russian Prime Minister Dmitriy Medvedev.

Thousands are marching in a pro-Putin rally in downtown Moscow.